Oscar Pujol still without a team

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Oscar Pujol is still living the life of a professional rider. Each morning he dresses in his race kit, swings his leg over his bike and goes out training for several hours, just like every other professional at January training camps. The only problem is that Pujol is trapped in a time-warp, still wearing his 2011 Omega Pharma team kit, but without a professional contract for 2012, and with time running out.

The 28-year-old climber has based himself in Calpe, Spain for a block of training and is staying in the same hotel as Garmin-Barracuda. But despite his predicament he hasn't considered retirement.

“Things are a little complicated because I don’t have a team for this year but I’m still training normally and I’m still motivated,” the Spaniard told Cyclingnews.

“If I get an opportunity I want to be as strong as I can, so it’s important keep my head up and still work with the same attitude as before.”

“I called everybody but they all said they were full. I’m not really looking for money, I just want to race and show myself. I really just want to enjoy the bike, that’s my real passion in life,” he said.

“At the moment I’ll carry on waiting. I don’t have a plan for the future at the moment but there are some options. I can maybe try mountain biking or cross but for now I’m focussing on road. I think I’m good enough to be in a big team, I just don’t know why there’s no opportunity at the moment.”