Cycling: Aside from the sporting events, a driver from Italy is currently making the headlines. Gianni Moscon (Sky) is said to have deliberately brought down the Swiss Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ). The origin of this story, however, goes back a little further...
Moscon racially abused Reza in April
Gianni Moscon is a talented racing driver. Aged just 22, he finished fifth that year in the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic. In the time trial of the Italian championships, he grabbed the jersey in his national colors. He helped Chris Froome (Sky) to overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana, while he was one of the strongest riders at the world championships in Bergen. From a sporting point of view, Gianni Moscon is a hopeful talent. But for some time now, the Italian has mainly been making negative headlines. The reason for this lies not in his ability, but in his behavior. Moscon first attracted attention in April when he is said to have racially insulted the dark-skinned driver Kevin Reza (FDJ). When this became public, he apologized to Reza. But apparently the Italian didn't really learn from it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfs16R9icWI
Did Moscon take revenge on Reichenbach?
At the World Championships in Bergen, Moscon presented himself in excellent form. But after the race he was subsequently disqualified. As video recordings show, he let himself be pulled by the team vehicle. After he was banned by his team for six weeks because of the Reza affair, this publicity did not stop him from continuing to attract negative attention. The latest story happened a few days ago at the Tre Valli Varesine one-day race. According to the allegations, Moscon is said to have deliberately brought down Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ).
The crash has been caused by the dangerous behavior of one of his opponents, Gianni Moscon.
— Equipe FDJ (@EquipeFDJ) 3 October 2017
Reichenbach files a complaint
In the meantime, Reichenbach has even reported the Italian. The police investigation has been initiated. Reichenbach is not only a teammate of Reza, but also the person who made the racist insults public via Twitter in the first place. Team FDJ seems certain that Moscon did this on purpose. The team tweeted after the race "The crash was caused by dangerous behavior by another rider, Gianni Moscon." If this is confirmed, he will probably face difficult times. After all, Reichenbach even had to have an operation on his elbow because of the fall. The accused himself denies any intention: “I'm very sorry that Sebastien Reichenbach was injured in an accident in today's race. I wish him the best recovery. We were driving on a section of bad road and Reichenbach's hand slipped off his handlebars.” FDJ team boss Marc Madiot doesn't really seem to believe this. He is now even considering a lawsuit for damages. We should be thrilled …
I'm very sorry to hear that @ Reichenbach_seb was hurt after there was an accident in today's race. I wish him the best recovery.
— Gianni Moscon (@GianniMoscon) 3 October 2017