Pay to race schemes revealed by retired cyclist Óscar Pujol

Spanish retired cyclist Óscar Pujol disclosed details of “pay-to-race” plans offered to him during his professional racing career. Pujol rode on the WorldTour for a few seasons with Cérvelo Test Team and Omega Pharma-QuickStep, then spent almost a decade with second and third-tier teams until retiring in 2018.

He couldn't find another WorldTour contract after the 2011 season, but he did say, without identifying anyone, that he was offered "pay-to-race" plans. “I had two offers. "One team asked me to pay 12,000 euros, and another 40,000 euros,” Pujol said during an interview with “Bicio” on  Dario Sport.

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“I didn’t want to pay 12,000 euros. I found a team on Facebook from Iran that was looking for riders,” he said. “I preferred to spend it on a car, and with the difference, I booked a flight to Iran, and I went to race for an Iranian team.”

Pujol embarked on a worldwide voyage after quitting WorldTour to join teams in non-traditional cycling nations. He raced with Azad, RTS Racing Team, Polygon, Skydive, and Ukyo, a Japanese team for whom he competed for four seasons.

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“The pay-to-race schemes are not common, but they do happen in the lower level and even upper-level teams, especially with riders desperate for a spot on a team to continue their racing careers. Some people take advantage of this in the sport because people are so passionate about it. You do it because you love it. I am not going to name names, but it’s always the same teams that ask you for money to race, "Pujol said. “In cycling, if you don’t have a 'godfather', you are never baptized.”

“A lot of friends encouraged me to keep racing, and here I am one more time,” he said. “Now I have to do it on my own, but that’s the way it is.” He continues to participate in mountain bike and marathon races around Europe.