Does The Tour de France Need Enforcers? You Bet Your Sweet Ass It Does, And Gianni Moscon Is Here To Lead The Way
I haven’t really been keeping up with le Tour as much as I would have liked to this year. There have been some moments here and there that I’ve checked in for a crash. But without Lance in the mix, the Tour de France doesn’t really put the asses in the seats anymore. But that could very easily change soon because allow me to introduce you to Gianni Moscon. He’s a bad boy of sorts in the cycling world. He won’t be winning the Tour de France this year. Not because he’s not good enough or anything. But because he’s been kicked out of the race after punching another rider in the face the other day mid race.
NYPost – Team Sky’s Tour de France bid plunged into turmoil after one of its riders was disqualified for punching an opponent.
Italian Gianni Moscon was kicked out of the race after striking a rider from Team Fortuneo-Samsic in the first half-mile of Stage 15.
It makes the hardest week of a brutal three-week race more difficult for Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, who are in first and second in the Yellow Jersey standings. Team Sky will now spend Monday’s rest day deciding whether to fire the 24-year-old, after he was suspended last year for racially abusing another cyclist during a race.
This is big boy riding right here. You want to go out on a casual ride with your friends, maybe break a little sweat and not take a fist to the grill? Then take your ass back home. This is the Tour de France, mother fucker. This is where champions are crowned. Rubbin’s racin’ and that’s that. There are always like 20 dudes all jammed up together in the same pack. Obviously guys are going to be pushing and shoving for position. And sometimes one rider might get out of hand and cross the line in those packs. The other cyclists need somebody out there who won’t just sit back and allow it to happen. They need somebody out there who is going to enforce the unwritten rules of riding. Gianni Moscon isn’t the villain here. He’s actually the hero. He’s the guy who is wiling to go out there and make sure that everybody else is riding a clean race. Does that mean that he has to break the rules himself in order to enforce the rules? Unfortunately yes, that’s part of the job. But if you ask any other Team Sky rider, I’m sure that they’ll tell you that they feel much safer when they have Gianni Moscon out there with them. The media may hate him. Casual fans may hate him. But only us real riders know how important he is to the game. The Tour de France needs enforcers, and Gianni Moscon isn’t afraid to step into that role.
P.S. – Nothing better than a Tour de France wipeout. Nothing.