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The decision, supported by Tour organisers, was widely expected given that so many riders finishing behind Armstrong, who was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for life, have also been associated with doping offences.

The sport's governing body also called on the American and other disgraced riders to return prize money they had received and said it would set up a "fully independent external commission" to investigate allegations made against it over the Armstrong affair.

Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven titles on Tuesday (AEDT) when the UCI ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's decision to ban the 41-year-old Texan for life and nullify his results from August 1998 onward.

"The management committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events," the UCI said in a statement following a meeting at a Geneva hotel.

"The committee also called on Armstrong and all other affected riders to return the prize money they had received," the statement added.