Cycling: deprived of salary and status, the convicts of the peloton are ready to do anything to run

The Cambodia Cycling Academy team hoped until the end.

But for lack of a UCI license, she learned this Saturday that she could not take the start of the GP la Marseillaise.

Based in Alès (Gard) but under a Cambodian license, this Continental training (the 3rd professional level) has been in the eye of the storm for a few weeks.

But its excesses and its practices to hijack the regulations have brought to light the reality of cycling at several speeds.

Riders with modest CVs can rub shoulders with stars of the peloton, be considered professionals without having the status, while receiving no remuneration.

The price of dreams, or rather illusions ...

Every year, amateur runners who do not necessarily have the level to join more highly rated teams or in search of revival are convinced by these exotic formations which abound on all continents.

This is the case of Johan Le Bon (30 years old), professional since 2009 and who knew Groupama-FDJ or B&B Hotels.

His contract not being renewed, he signed at Cambodia with the indestructible Davide Rebellin (49 years old).

“I was advised to go back down to the amateurs but at my age, I know that I would not be back,” he explains.

I dream of regaining professional status.

But my situation is simple: I live from day to day.

I am in the small door of the bicycle but it's better than nothing.

I know where I'm going, no pay, just a bike and paid transport costs. ”

Junior world champion in 2008, Le Bon, who registered as unemployed, became a galley in the peloton.

Before him, many actually had the painful experience.

Like this runner from the South, now returned to an amateur club which “had to pay out of pocket with his family the 5,000 euros in expenses” promised by the professional team which had hired him.

"In France, it is compulsory to pay the runners"

A situation which brings out of its hinges Pascal Chanteur, the president of the French runners union (UNCP).

“There are plenty of teams in Oceania and Asia looking to have a lot of runners without having the financial means, he regrets.

These people live off the passion of kids.

Some are the victims of thugs.

It's delinquency!

They are the shame of the bicycle.

In France, everything is framed to prevent this kind of abuse.

We are the only country where it is compulsory to pay runners.

In Italy or Belgium, there are no salaries but the teams undertake to take good care of the infrastructure (transport, shopping costs, etc.). ”

If the leaders of Cambodia Cycling Academy still hinted on their facebook page that they would participate in @gplmarseillaise, she is not in the start-list.

Licensing procedure still in progress at the UCI.

#cycling #GPLaMarseillaise #Cambodia https://t.co/iTPzXTRdUE

- Laurent Pruneta (@PrunetaLaurent) January 30, 2021

Stéphane Javalet has managed St Michel-Auber, in the 3rd professional division since 2004. Johan Le Bon had called him.

But to hire him, he would have had to pay him a salary and pay social charges.

Contrary to what Cambodia does, which depends on the Federation of Cambodia.

“These teams distort professional cycling, there is nothing: no sporting project, no employment contract, no social benefits, no rules, growls Javalet.

Even amateur clubs with us in France are better structured. ”

The crisis linked to the pandemic has also multiplied another practice: runners who pay to run by bringing their own pool of partners.

This even concerns foreign professional teams in the 2nd division… “It feels like Formula 1,” says a French rider ironically.

I approached several teams, they were interested but other runners who did not have my experience were preferred to me because they came with their funding. "

Regulation could be tightened

Even so, an unlikely exotic adventure can sometimes open doors.

A graduate of Insa Lyon, Adrien Guillonnet managed to stand out by running in 2019 for the Japanese Interpro team, where he was not paid.

He was able to sign a “real” contract with St-Michel Auber 93. “As an individual and a sportsman, I have enriched myself, he believes.

I was able to do tourism while competing in races with Asian, African or Caribbean cyclists.

But I had a bit of a bastard status which is not sustainable in the long term.

I thank my parents for their support. ”

But Guillonnet's example is rare.

For most of these galley slaves, the experience only lasts a few months.

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The FFC (French Cycling Federation) and the National League, even if they do not have control over runners who depend on foreign federations, have started to reflect on their cases. They should no longer be allowed to participate in the French Championships without a real professional contract. Last year, the riders from Cambodia, including a pure 43-year-old amateur, were able to line up against Alaphilippe and Démare. The clash of two worlds.