Gianni Moscon disqualified from Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne for aggressive conduct
Italian appeared to throw bike at another rider
Gianni Moscon has been disqualified from Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in the middle of the race for apparently throwing a bike at another rider.
The Team Ineos rider was caught up in a crash with around 65km remaining and fell into a ditch along with a number of other riders.
Venting his frustration, he then picked up a bike and threw it at a B&B Hotels-Vital Concept rider.
Several kilometres later, race radio announced Moscon had been disqualified for 'aggressive and unsporting conduct'.
When he received notice of his disqualification, Moscon took out the first of his two race numbers, scrunched it up, and threw it to the floor.
He then reached for the second, sat up, and ripped it in two before discarding it.
Moscon werpt boos andermans fiets in de beek na deze valpartij. De gevolgen zijn zwaar: diskwalificatie pic.twitter.com/QHb3L94RHkMarch 1, 2020
It's not the first time Moscon has found himself in trouble with the authorities. He was disqualified from the 2018 Tour de France after punching the French rider Elie Gesbert. At the 2017 World Championships, he was disqualified for holding onto his team car.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
In 2017, he was suspended by his own team after racially abusing Kevin Reza at the Tour de Romandie. Later that year, he was accused of causing Sebastien Reichenbach - a teammate of Reza at the time - to crash and break his elbow and hip, although he was later cleared due to a lack of evidence.
In late 2018, Moscon jokingly referred to his previous disciplinary issues.
"I’ll glue my hands to the bars and wont take a bidon," he said.
"I don’t want to give anyone something to get hold of. I know I can’t be liked everyone. There’s a lot of envious people out there. But the people who know me support me. That’s all I need."
#KBK20 - Moscon reaction to DSQ pic.twitter.com/ygM4us8xnzMarch 1, 2020
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.