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.

“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.

“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.