Oprah Winfrey speaks with Lance Armstrong during an interview on the controversy surrounding his cycling career on Monday, January 14, in Austin, Texas. Oprah Winfrey's exclusive no-holds-barred interview with Lance Armstrong, "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive," has expanded to air as a two-night event on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. The interview airs Thursday, January 17, and Friday, January 18.
(CNN) -- Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong won't be allowed to compete in international Ironman triathlon contests while he's under investigation for doping, the World Triathlon Corporation announced Thursday.
The ruling bars him from the Ironman France competition scheduled for June 24 in Nice, the agency said.
The decision comes after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, or USADA, confirmed Wednesday that it is opening proceedings against Armstrong and five former teammates.
Armstrong said Wednesday the agency intends to "dredge up discredited" doping allegations against him in a bid to strip him of his seven Tour de France victories.
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The champion cyclist has always insisted he never took performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong was accused of using such drugs by other riders, but never failed a drug test.
Armstrong started doing triathlons after retiring from cycling, and won a half-Ironman in Hawaii less than two weeks ago. He was the fastest cyclist and runner on the 70.3-mile course, and the third-fastest swimmer.
But with the new investigation open, the World Triathlon Corporation suspended him.
WTC rules "dictate an athlete is ineligible to compete during an open investigation. Armstrong is therefore suspended from competing in WTC-owned and licensed races pending further review," the organization said in a statement.
USA Triathlon said he can still compete in its events.
"Lance Armstrong is currently still eligible to compete in all USA Triathlon-sanctioned races, with the exception of Ironman events as stated earlier by the World Triathlon Corporation," said the body's communications director Chuck Menke.
Armstrong lashed out at his accusers and the doping agency on Wednesday.
"Unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one," Armstrong said on his website. "That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence."
A 15-page agency letter was sent Tuesday to Armstrong and several others. The Washington Post was the first to report the story.
Justice Department prosecutors in February said they closed a criminal investigation after reviewing allegations against Armstrong. They had called witnesses to a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, but they apparently determined they lacked evidence to bring a charge that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs.
"These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation," Armstrong said Wednesday.
In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions."
EPO, or erythropoietin, boosts the number of blood cells.
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The letter said Armstrong and five former cycling team associates engaged in a doping conspiracy from 1998 to 2011. Riders will testify that Armstrong used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and masking agents, and that he distributed and administered drugs to other cyclists from 1998 to 2005, according to the letter.
In a statement obtained by CNN, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis T. Tygart said the five other people, formerly associated with the U.S. Postal Service pro cycling team, are three team doctors and two team officials. The letter included written notice of alleged anti-doping rule violations, Tygart said
"USADA only initiates matters supported by the evidence," Tygart said. "We do not choose whether or not we do our job based on outside pressures, intimidation or for any reason other than the evidence." All named individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise, he added.
According to its website, the quasi-government agency is recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic events in the United States.
Armstrong said the organization has "self-written rules" and punishes first and adjudicates the facts later.
Armstrong has been dogged by allegations of drug abuse in recent years, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was found guilty of doping in the 2006 Tour de France, resulting in him being stripped of the title -- making a series of claims last year.
Armstrong came out fighting once again in May 2011 in the face of fresh allegations made on the CBS News "60 Minutes" show by another American, Tyler Hamilton.
In the CBS interview, Hamilton -- who retired in 2009 after twice testing positive himself -- says he first saw Armstrong use blood boosting EPO in 1999, the year of his first Tour de France victory.
"I saw it in his refrigerator," Hamilton told the American news program. "I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times."
On his Twitter page, Armstrong at the time said he never failed a drug test.
Ex-teammate: I saw Lance Armstrong inject banned substances
CNN's Steve Almasy, Gary Morley, Terry Frieden and Jason Durand contributed to this report.
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Cyclist Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his seven Tour de France wins and banned from the tournament for life, the International Cycling Union announced Monday, October 22. Pictured, Armstrong addresses participants at The Livestrong Challenge Ride on Sunday. He stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer charity on Wednesday, October 17.
Armstrong leads his teammates during the final stage of the 1999 Tour de France.
Armstrong, 17, competes in the Jeep Triathlon Grand Prix in 1988. He became a professional triathlete at age 16 and joined the U.S. National Cycling Team two years later.
In 1995, Armstrong wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France. He finished 36th overall and finished the race for the first time that year.
Armstrong rides for charity in May 1998 at the Ikon Ride for the Roses to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He established the foundation to benefit cancer research after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. After treatment, he was declared cancer-free in February 1997.
Armstrong takes his honor lap on the Champs-Élysées in Paris after winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1999.
After winning the 2000 Tour de France, Armstrong holds his son Luke on his shoulders.
Armstrong rides during the 18th stage of the 2001 Tour de France. He won the tour that year for the third consecutive time.
Armstrong celebrates winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France in 2001.
After winning the 2001 Tour de France, Armstrong presents President George W. Bush with a U.S. Postal Service yellow jersey and a replica of the bike he used to win the race.
Armstrong celebrates on the podium after winning the Tour de France by 61 seconds in 2003. It was his fifth consecutive win.
Jay Leno interviews Armstrong on "The Tonight Show" in 2003.
After his six consecutive Tour de France win in 2004, Armstrong attends a celebration in his honor in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Armstrong arrives at the 2005 American Music Awards in Los Angeles with his then-fiancee Sheryl Crow. The couple never made it down the aisle, splitting up the following year.
Armstrong holds up a paper displaying the number seven at the start of the Tour de France in 2005. He went on to win his seventh consecutive victory.
As a cancer survivor, Armstrong testifies during a Senate hearing in 2008 on Capitol Hill. The hearing focused on finding a cure for cancer in the 21st century.
In 2009, Armstrong suffers a broken collarbone after falling during a race in Spain along with more than a dozen other riders.
Young Armstrong fans write messages on the ground using yellow chalk ahead of the 2009 Tour de France. He came in third place that year.
Armstrong launches the three-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The event was organized by his foundation.
In May 2010, Armstrong crashes during the Amgen Tour of California and is taken to the hospital. That same day, he denied allegations of doping made by former teammate Floyd Landis.
Ahead of what he said would be his last Tour de France, Armstrong gears up for the start of the race in 2010.
Lance Armstrong looks back as he rides in a breakaway during the 2010 Tour de France.
Armstrong finishes 23rd in the 2010 Tour de France. He announced his retirement from the world of professional cycling in February 2011. He said he wants to devote more time to his family and the fight against cancer.
Armstrong's son Luke; twin daughters, Isabelle and Grace; and 1-year-old son, Max, stand outside the Radioshack team bus on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France.
The frame of Armstrong's bike is engraved with the names of his four children at the time and the Spanish word for five, "cinco." His fifth child, Olivia, was born in October 2010.
In February 2012, Armstrong competes in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Panama City. He went on to claim two Half Ironman triathlon titles by June. He got back into the sport after retiring from professional cycling.
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