Gianni Moscon kicked out of the Tour for hitting another rider

Team Sky’s rough ride on the Tour de France continued on Sunday when their rider Gianni Moscon was kicked out of the race for hitting another rider during the 15th stage

“The jury kicked him out because he hit a rider from the (French) Fortuneo-Samsic team,” a senior official, who declined to be named, told the press.

It is not the first time Moscon, has fallen foul of officials. Last year he was handed a suspension by Team Sky after racially abusing Kevin Reza at the Tour of Romandie.

That misdemeanour earned the Italian a written warning from Team Sky, who said at the time: “Gianni Moscon has been given a formal written warning and suspended from racing for six weeks. He will also attend a diversity awareness course."

After today Team Sky stated “Gianni knows that there is no excuse for his behaviour and that any repeat will result in termination of his contract.”

At the end of last season Moscon was also accused by Swiss rider Sebastien Reichenbach of causing him to crash, an incident for which he escaped sanctions.

Moscon finished an impressive fifth at Paris-Roubaix in 2017 and third in the Tour of Lombardy, before helping Chris Froome claim overall victory in the 2017 Vuelta.