Gianni Moscon faces 11-hour UCI hearing over claim he deliberately caused Reichenbach crash

Gianni Moscon followed up on six hours of racing at Paris-Roubaix to fly to Geneva for an 11-hour hearing to defend himself against claims that he deliberately caused Groupama-FDJ rider Sébastien Reichenbach to crash in a race in 2017.

The UCI's disciplinary commission sat from from 9am until 8pm on Monday, but have yet to issue a verdict in the case. Reichenbach claims that Moscon deliberately caused him to crash in the 2017 Tre Valli Varesine, linking it to his reaction to racist remarks that Moscon allegedly made to former FDJ team-mate Kévin Reza.

"Right now, no comment," Moscon told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "I prefer to wait until it's all over."

If the commission decides against him, Moscon could face a six-month to one-year ban. The commission adjourned the hearing to continue its work.

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The 23-year-old Italian placed fifth in the 2017 Paris-Roubaix and helped Team Sky team-mate Chris Froome win the Vuelta a España. After he finished in 41st position in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, he flew to Switzerland and attended the hearing with Team Sky staff and lawyers.

No video footage exists of the incident on October 3, 2017, in the Tre Valli Varesine so the commission is having to put together the details of the incident through other means

Sky team-mate Kenny Elissonde, who raced with FDJ for years, and Nicola Graffurini and Marco Zamparella, who both also took part in the race, testified.

Reichenbach, who broke his pelvis and elbow in the crash, also attended, but the commission did not keep the Swiss rider for the entire 11 hours.

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"He deliberately threw me to the ground," Reichenbach said at the time. "It was deliberate, and several riders who were at the scene. He deliberately threw himself at me. On a descent the accident could have had more serious consequences."

However Moscon has denied deliberately causing Reichenbach to crash, saying at the time that "Reichenbach's hands slipped from his handlebars" on a rough section of road on the descent.

Reichenbach claims the incident was retaliation to his Twitter post saying that Moscon used "racist slurs" against Reichenbach's then-team-mate Kévin Reza.

Team Sky suspended Moscon for six weeks and sent him to a diversity awareness course after the Reza incident in the 2017 Tour de Romandie.