Gianni Moscon has confirmed that he will be back at Ineos Grenadiers for 2021, pre-empting a team announcement about his future. The controversial Italian was out of contract at the end of this season and only raced 20 days, prompting speculation about his future role at Ineos.
The 26-year-old's top result in 2020 was eighth on stage 2 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, with his last professional victory coming at the 2018 Tour of Guangxi.
In March, Moscon hit the headlines when he was disqualified from Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne for throwing his bike at B&B Hotels-Vital Concept rider Jens Debusschere after they were caught up in a crash.
Ineos directeur sportif Gabriel Rasch condemned Moscon's actions and agreed with the decision, the latest in a line of controversies which have included punching Élie Gesbert and racially abusing Kévin Reza.
BiciSport reports that Moscon has spent the past weeks at home in Trentino working on his family's apple farm. His season drew to a close at the Giro dell'Appennino in September after racing exclusively in Italy after the racing restart, despite having been set to target the northern Classics in October.
"Now I don't want to think about [next year]," Moscon told Bicisport. "Otherwise, I'll get distracted and the work suffers.
"This, right now, is my main occupation and I also need to switch off. I'll think about starting next season starting in December. So far, we don't even know when we can start racing again or how the calendar will be set."
The 2020 season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Moscon said that his father has been suffering with the virus, though he is on the road to recovery.
"He's recovering," Moscon said. "The pandemic has touched him, too, but fortunately the worst is behind him. I'm sorry not to have him around – the days are wonderful, and the work is going well."
Moscon's renewal, though yet to be announced by Ineos, is the latest roster move for the team ahead of the 2021 season. The squad has already announced the signings of Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Laurens De Plus (Jumbo-Visma), Thomas Pidcock (Trinity Racing) and Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling), while Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Chris Lawless (Total Direct Energie) are leaving. Ian Stannard announced his retirement earlier this month.
Today's best Black Friday deals
Today's cycling-related highlights from the Black Friday sales. For even more, view our guide to the best Black Friday bike deals where you'll find on all things cycling, including bikes, helmets, clothing and more.
Today's best deals: USA
Today's best deals: UK
