After seven years Operation Puerto comes to a conclusion - but at what cost?

Just days after Lance Armstrong's doping admission, professional cycling is set for more damaging revelations when the long-delayed Operation Puerto case finally goes to court in Spain.

The New York Times reports that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency believes the Lance Armstrong case is just part of a wide-ranging doping battle that will never be won.

World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman said Lance Armstrong pursued what appears to be a systematic doping program for a decade "probably with the knowledge" of people who were charged with detecting drug cheats.

The World Anti-Doping Agency would consider an amnesty for riders who confess to drug offenses even though the proposal by cycling's ruling body would take the sports world into "uncharted territory."