The Astana Qazaqstan team have confirmed that Gianni Moscon did not start Friday’s stage of Itzulia Basque Country so that he can travel to northern France and ride Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix.
The Italian finished fourth at the Hell of the North in 2021 after leading the race in the final sectors, only for a puncture to leave him struggling to stay upright on the wet cobbles.
Eventual winner Sonny Colbrelli, along with Florian Vermeersch and Mathieu van der Poel, surged past him, with Moscon finishing alone at 44 seconds.
Moscon struggled with the effects of long COVID in 2022 and has faced a stop-start 2023 season after fracturing his collarbone at the Tour Down Under. However, he recently spent time at altitude in Italy and has raced the Volta a Catalunya and this week’s Itzulia Basque Country stage race.
UCI rules dictate that a rider cannot leave one race to start another if the events overlap, but Itzulia concludes on Saturday afternoon and Paris-Roubaix begins on Sunday morning.
Moscon will lead the Astana Qazaqstan team at Paris-Roubaix, with Cees Bol, Gleb Syritsa, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Igor Chzhan and Martin Laas also in the line-up.
Mark Cavendish is not part of the Astana Qazaqstan line-up and is expected to ride next week’s Giro di Sicilia as he prepares for the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Moscon is expected to ride the Ardennes Classics later in April before the Giro d’Italia.
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