GIANNI MOSCON HAS been banned for five weeks after an incident during last month’s Tour de France, when the Italian aimed a punch at another rider.
During stage 15 of the Tour, the Team Sky man was seen taking a swipe at Fortuneo-Samsic’s Elie Gesbert and was disqualified.
Moscon subsequently apologised for his actions, and today it was confirmed the UCI had handed down a five-week suspension.
“I accept the suspension given to me by the UCI. I reacted in the heat of the moment and it was never my intention to hit the rider,” Moscon said.
“As the footage shows I didn’t make contact, but I regret my actions and I have already apologised to both Elie Gesbert and Fortuneo-Samsic for the incident.”
Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford said: “We accept the UCI’s decision to suspend Gianni for a five-week period.
“This incident obviously happened during one of the most challenging races the team has ever faced. We are confident that Gianni truly regrets his actions and has learnt from this episode.
“We have a duty of care to all our riders which we take extremely seriously. Gianni is still a relatively young rider at the start of his career and we will continue to give him the help and support he needs to learn, develop and move forward from this.”
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