Since its first edition in 2019, no Italian rider has ever won the general classification at the Appenninica MTB Stage Race. This June, that could change. From 22 to 26 June, alongside Vincenzo Saitta and Emanuele Spica, Luca Cacchi lines up again at the most important stage race in Italian mountain biking: the rider from Romagna who took a surprising second place just two years ago, behind an unbeatable Hans Becking.
Cacchi will go wheel to wheel with the Dutchman again this year, and in his eyes Becking is the man to beat.
“This year I’m coming in without any fixed targets, but I know I’m ready and well prepared,” says Cacchi. “Hans Becking is a great athlete and he’s always shown it. I’m racing him again after the 2024 Appenninica, and I’m sure he’ll turn up in top form.”
Last year, Cacchi was set to start, but an injury at the HERO Südtirol Dolomites just a week earlier ruled him out. A kneecap microfracture sidelined the Bad Team rider from one of the races he had targeted most, and the mental blow cut as deep as the physical one.
“Last year really hurt, not being able to race Appenninica,” Cacchi admits. “Along with the HERO Südtirol Dolomites, it was one of the races I was counting on most. A kneecap microfracture put me out, and mentally I had to let go of my goals. But I’ve learned that this is part of mountain biking too.”
The year on the sidelines seems to have sharpened him. Cacchi arrives at the 22–26 June edition with a clearer head and fresh legs.
Becking is far from the only obstacle. Emanuele Spica and Vincenzo Saitta, the Sicilian duo from ASD Rolling Team, come in with open ambitions of winning. Cacchi knows them well: they’ve finished ahead of him several times this season, yet he doesn’t count himself the underdog.
He has reason not to. At the HERO Südtirol Dolomites he crossed the line ahead of Spica, a result he plays down but hasn’t forgotten.
“Spica and Saitta are both seriously strong,” Cacchi says. “I’ve come up against them in several races this year and they’ve always finished ahead of me, but at the HERO Südtirol Dolomites I beat Spica. We’ll fight it out over these five days.”
All three start with a genuine shot at the overall win at the 2026 Appenninica MTB Stage Race, with Hans Becking and an in-form German, Marek Sülzle, also in the mix, along with Riccardo Chiarini. Victory would put an Italian on the top step of the country’s most important mountain bike stage race for the first time.
“The chance of an Italian win at Appenninica is very real this year,” Cacchi concedes. “But you can’t underestimate the riders coming through. The start list is long, and just as I broke out in 2024, someone barely on the radar right now could do the same.”
The wait is almost over. On Monday, 22 June the cards go on the table, and we’ll find out who was bluffing and who has a real shot at the win.
