Worlds: No 'home' glory for Moscon in Innsbruck

Gianni Moscon was hoping to end Italy's ten-year dry spell in the men's World Championships and was hoping to win in his new adopted home of Innsbruck but when the 28 per cent gradient of Höttinger Höll began to bite, he lacked the power to stay with Alejandro Valverde, Romain Bardet and Michael Woods, and the chance of a medal slipped away.

"I was just missing that little bit, just an extra couple of strong pedal strokes, but I was cooked. There was nothing I could do," Moscon said post-race after finishing fifth behind the medal winners and Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands), who caught then dropped him, and bridged across to Valverde, Bardet and Woods only to finish fourth in the sprint.

"I just didn't have the legs on the last part of the climb and they went away from me. I was right on my limit. I tried to survive after bring gapped and when Tom Dumoulin came up to me, I couldn't even hold his wheel. I was done," Moscon explained, wracked by regret and disappointment as he talked.

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"I tried to recover on the descent and gave it everything on the flat hoping they would perhaps look at each other. I saw the cars and tried to come back up to them but I couldn't make it."

Moscon was chasing victory on his home roads after moving to Innsbruck from Monte Carlo in recent months. He originates from the mountainous region of western Trentino near Val di Non, not far over the border in Italy, and was extra motivated to perform at home.

"This is going to be my hometown for the next few years, I love it here and love Austria. It would have been nice to get a medal in my hometown but what more could I do? That's life," he said.

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