Gianni Moscon suffers broken collarbone in Tour Down Under crash
Italian suffers spring setback a year on from an early season blighted by illness
A year on from an early season campaign ruined by COVID-19 and bronchitis, Gianni Moscon faces another spell on the sidelines after breaking his collarbone in a crash at the Tour Down Under.
The Italian, beginning his second year at Astana Qazaqstan, went down on Friday's third stage of the race together with teammate Leonardo Basso. However, while Basso was able to quickly get going again and finish the stage, albeit 12 minutes down, it was game over for Moscon, who left the race.
Astana Qazaqstan confirmed the injury and announced that Moscon will undergo surgery in Australia.
"Medical examination confirmed a left collarbone fracture to Gianni Moscon," read a statement issued by the team. "Our rider will be operated by Dr Nicolas Chabrel in Calvary Adelaide Hospital."
Depending on the severity of the fracture, the injury is likely to see Moscon out of action for around a month to six weeks, putting a big dent in his preparation for this year's spring Classics.
Moscon has struggled for form in recent seasons after a promising start to his career with Team Sky which saw him win the Tour of Guangxi and Arctic Race of Norway and take third at the 2017 Il Lombardia.
However, his time at the British squad was marred by a series of incidents including racially abusing Kevin Reza and several acts of violence against other riders.
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A change of scenery for 2022 promised a fresh start, but after suffering several illness setbacks through the spring, he called an end to his Classics campaign early, citing a "sub-zero" condition on the bike.
He made Astana's Tour de France but left the race on stage 8 with his team citing 'long-COVID'. It was later discovered that he was suffering from a bacterial infection in his blood, which was solved by a course of antibiotics.
He would tell Cyclingnews at the season-ending Tour de Langkawi, where a pair of top 10s amounted to his top results of the year, that "I couldn't train, I just got tired, every little effort I do made me more tired, instead of making me improve."
🇦🇺 MEDICAL UPDATE: @tourdownunder Medical examination confirmed a left collarbone fracture to Gianni Moscon. Our rider will be operated by Dr. Nicolas Chabrel in Calvary Adelaide Hospital. #TourDownUnder #AstanaQazaqstanTeam 📷 @SprintCycling pic.twitter.com/IqQjyjHJ5CJanuary 20, 2023
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.
As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix