Gianni Moscon is headed to Astana
Gianni Moscon is headed to Astana
After six years in the Ineos Grenadiers organization, Gianni Moscon is headed to Astana next season.
The team currently known as Astana-Premier Tech announced on Wednesday that it had signed the 27-year-old Italian to a two-year deal.
“We are pleased to welcome Gianni Moscon, a very strong and versatile rider, to our team. As well as being suited to one-day races and individual time trials, Gianni is a reliable team rider who can provide powerful support for the team’s Grand Tour leaders,” said Astana team manager Alexandre Vinokourov in a press release. “After six years in the same team, we hope that this move to Astana will allow Gianni to further develop as a rider, especially as he is still young, and will inspire him and help him to unlock his rich potential even more. The transfer of Gianni Moscon is an unconditional strengthening of the team’s position, both in one-day races and the Grand Tours, for the next two seasons.”
Moscon joined the team then known as Sky in 2016 after a establishing himself as a promising prospect in the under-23 ranks. During his tenure with the team, he delivered two WorldTour victories, taking the fourth stage and the overall at the 2018 Tour of Guangxi, and a number of non-WorldTour wins, while also being a frequent contender across a variety of terrain in one-day races. He rode to fifth at Paris-Roubaix and third at Il Lombardia in 2017, and landed in the top five at Worlds in 2018 and 2019.
He has also been involved in controversy. Team Sky suspended him for a period in 2017 for using a racist slur against Kevin Reza. The following year, he was kicked off the Tour de France for throwing a punch at Elie Gesbert on the 15th stage of the race. In 2020, he was disqualified from Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne for throwing his bike at Jens Debusschere following a crash.
Moscon will find himself in a new environment in 2022 as he heads to his second WorldTour squad.
“After six years spent in one team, I am going to take a serious step in my career. I think that this is a kind of challenge for me, motivation to keep on growing, and a new experience that I am sure will be successful,” he said. “Over the years, I have managed to accumulate a lot of experience, and now I would like to use it to the fullest in a new team, in a new environment. In my first season in Astana, I hope to be as useful as possible to the team and, of course, I will strive to achieve some personal successes.”
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