'I have been portrayed as a person that I am not': Gianni Moscon looks to a fresh start with Astana in 2022

Gianni Moscon has said he has "been portrayed as a person that [he is] not" over the last few years, but adds that he has "matured", ahead of a fresh start with Astana in 2022.

Moscon is leaving Ineos Grenadiers after six years with the British team, as he heads off to join the Kazakhstani squad with an Italian core along with the likes of Vincenzo Nibali.

Referencing controversial incidents which have seen him suspended from his former team, or disqualified from races, he said: "often wrong conclusions have been drawn about me," adding "anyone who knows me knows how I am".

The Italian all-rounder has set himself some pretty big goals for the upcoming seasons with Astana involving some of the biggest one-day races in the calendar with all five Monument Classics potentially on the cards.

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In an interview with Tuttobici Moscon said: "I haven't decided on the calendar yet, I'll do it in the next few days with the team. The Classics I must say that I like them all a bit, the important thing is to get there with the right legs as happened this year at Roubaix.

"My goal will be that. As I always say, the Classic I like best is the one I win. I am a cross-country athlete, so the longer the race is, the more I feel at ease and manage to emerge. Of course, I do very well in a race with a lot of altitude difference like Il Lombardia and in a grueling race with no climb[s] like the Paris-Roubaix. 

"I think I adapt to both types of racing. In 2022 I hope to be in good shape for both events."

Moscon has made the headlines repeatedly for, arguably, the wrong reasons.  He was suspended by his now former team in 2017 over "racists comments" made towards the now retired Kevin Reza, and was also disqualified from Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in 2020 for throwing a bike onto another rider following a crash.

"Anyone who knows me knows how I am. Certainly, I have matured, but over the years, due to some episodes and the context in which they occurred, I have been portrayed as a person that I am not. 

"And I can also understand [people] who, like journalists, find themselves judging from the outside and have to rely on the words of one person or another. But often wrong conclusions have been drawn about me."