Italian cyclist Roberto Gaggioli claims disgraced American champ Lance Armstrong paid him $100,000 to throw a 1993 race so he could win the million dollar prize.

Gaggioli, 51, says Armstrong presented him with the cash inside a box disguised as a cake as an offering so he could clinch the win at the CoreStates race in Philadelphia.

"It was a young American colleague. He offered me a panettone (a traditional Italian Christmas cake) as a present and wished me a Merry Christmas. In the box there were $100,000 in small bills," Gaggioli said.

"That colleague was Lance Armstrong."

And according to Gaggioli, his entire racing team had agreed to be paid off.

"Lance said that my team, Coors Light, had agreed to it," he said. "I understood that it had all been decided."

The 21-day race awarded $1 million to the victor and consisted of the Pittsburgh Classic, the West Virginia Classic and the CoreStates race which were all part of the collective Thrift Drug Triple Crown that is now known as The Million Dollar Race.