The Lance Armstrong scandal left a huge gap in cycling's record books and further tainted the sport in a year when Britain experienced Olympic bliss in the wake of Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France title.

Armstrong was banned for life and stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles after the US Anti-Doping Agency uncovered what it said was the "most sophisticated" doping program ever found.

It was, however, a vintage year for British cycling as it won its maiden Tour through Wiggins and scooped 12 medals at the London Olympics.