After the Corriere della Sera reported on dubious practices in Italian teams where riders reportedly pay up to 50,000 euros for a professional contract and thus undermine formally negotiated contracts, Dagblad De Limburger has now claimed that similar practices are common in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The newspaper refers to several professional riders from the Limburg region, claiming that dozens of riders were affected - and not only in the lower Continental and ProContinental categoes, but also in the World Tour.

Dutchman Rob Ruijgh who rode for the now-defunct WorldTour team Vacansoleil and currently has a contract with the Continental team Vastgoedservice-Golden Palace, was quoted. "I have already experienced how negotiations have broken down because there were riders who brought their own money to the table." The 29-year-old Dutchman talked about teams who appointed an unemployed professional because they received a reward of 12,000 Euro from the authorities. "They prefer to sign a rider that brings more than 50,000 Euro, as that allows them to make a profit," Ruijgh added.

A rider who wished to remain anonymous, told the paper about an "Omerta-issue, because if you blow the whitsle on a team, you will not be signed by anyone". In ProContinental- and Continental teams, such an approach is common practice. "I have also experienced it in a foreign Continental team," the rider said. "I was in talks with them and everything went well until the team manager explained that I would have to pay 10,000 euros to compensate for my salary. " A third rider said that one must bring "a bag of money" in order to stay in a team.

The Association of Dutch professional cyclist (VVBW) was surprised by the massive allegations. "Until now, that was not a problem for us. Tou buy yourself into a professional team belongs largely to the past," said the Association secretary John van den Akker, himself a former professional cyclist. "I can hardly imagine that this is still happening in the Netherlands, but it would be a serious matter if the riders have to pay their salaries secretly."

Van den Akker asked the riders to tell VVBW about such illegal practices. "We can only do something if we are notified. Then we can raise the issue in talks with the national federation and the UCI."