FDJ rider accepts apology, Team Sky to discipline Moscon after race
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Kevin Reza during FDJ's Liege-Bastogne-Liege recon(Image credit: FDJ)
Team Sky's Gianni Moscon at the back(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Kevin Reza (FDJ)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Gianni Moscon of Team Sky finished fifth in 2017(Image credit: Reuben Bakker-Dyos / Immediate Media)
Team Sky has confirmed that Gianni Moscon used racially abusive language towards FDJ's Kevin Reza at the Tour de Romandie. Team Sky's DS Nicolas Portal called the incident 'unacceptable' and a team spokesperson said that the incident would be dealt with internally.
In a video posted to Team Sky's Twitter page following Friday's stage 3 of the Tour de Romandie, Reza could be seen remonstrating with Moscon in the background. Reza's teammate Sebastian Reichenbach later tweeted about an incident of racial abuse, although he did not name Moscon.
"Shocked to hear fools still use racial slurs in the pro peloton. You are a shame for our sport," he wrote on Twitter.
According to Team Sky, Reza has accepted an apology from Moscon, but the Frenchman refused to comment at the start of the stage 4. The Italian will be allowed to continue the race, which finishes on Sunday, and Team Sky will punish him after its completion.
Cyclingnews has contacted the UCI about the incident, but is currently awaiting a response. The race organisers say that they were unaware of the incident until Saturday morning.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
