Professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong pleaded guilty to reckless driving after he hit two parked cars with an SUV he was driving in Aspen, Colorado, last Dec. 28.

Earlier, Armstong's girlfriend Anna Hansen took the blame for the accident, admitting that it was a mutual decision they made.

ESPN said that the cyclist entered his guilty plea by mail on Friday, an action which will already do away with court appearances as the case will already be deemed closed.

The report added that the two other charges - failure to report the accident and speeding too fast for conditions - have been dismissed as per the plea agreement.

Citing court records, ESPN said that Armstrong was burdened with paying the $238.50 for court fees and $150 for traffic fine.

A similar article by The Guardian said that the cyclist was initially cited for leaving the scene after the incident. A police report quoted by the article said that a witness was approached by Hansen who apologized for the incident, saying she would pay for the damages caused to the vehicles but left the area right after.

In the investigation that followed, Hansen claimed that she was the one driving that night because her boyfriend had a little bit of a drink from an event at an Aspen hotel.

This claim, according to The Guardian, was however negated by the valet attendant who said that Armstrong was behind the wheel when the couple left the hotel.

ESPN said that this prompted Hansen to admit that it was indeed Armstrong who was responsible for the crash and that they just mutually decided that she will take the blame for it.

"We've had our family name smeared over every paper in the world in the last couple of years and honestly, I've got teenagers, I just wanted to protect my family," Hansen was quoted by ESPN as saying.

The plea deal entered into by Armstrong is a common one in such cases according to Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bryan who told ESPN that people like Armstrong can enter their pleas via mail.

Under current regulations, careless driving is punished with 10-90 days jail time and a fine ranging from $150 to $300.

With the recent turn of events, it can be seen that perhaps Armstrong did not want to take the blame as he has already so much on his plate being tagged as a "disgraced professional cyclist."

The Guardian noted that the 43-year-old was stripped of his seven Tour de France Titles and was also banned for life from racing three years ago when he was investigated for using performance-enhancing drugs. He later on admitted to using the banned substances.

He has been recently ordered to pay $10M to a sports insurance company for his earned bonuses in his numerous victories.