Hans Becking, Vincenzo Saitta and Emanuele Spica are emerging as the three strongest riders of this year’s Appenninica. Once again, the trio set the pace from the opening kilometres, gradually extending their advantage over the chasing group. The first selection came on the long opening climb towards Corno alle Scale, although their lead over Marek Sülzle and Luca Cacchi was still measured in seconds at Lago Scaffaiolo.
The race took a decisive turn on the descent towards Sestola, where the Bad Team rider Cacchi suffered a puncture and lost crucial minutes repairing his bike.
At the front, the leading trio remained together on the climb to Monte Cimone. The stalemate was finally broken on the descent to Riolunato, when Saitta accelerated and briefly opened a gap over his teammate and Becking. But with just five kilometres remaining, a puncture forced the race leader to slow down.
Becking and Spica moved past him and battled for the win on the uphill finishing stretch in Riolunato. The Dutchman came out on top, stopping the clock at 3:30:34.
Spica crossed the line in second place and pulled on the Barbieri PNK Blue Jersey as the new overall leader, while Saitta eventually finished 2:02 behind. Marek Sülzle was fourth at 4:29, with Luca Cacchi fifth at 4:54.
“Today was a fantastic stage, with tough climbs and technical, enjoyable descents,” said stage winner Hans Becking. “Saitta and Spica are really strong – we stayed together all day. It will be difficult to drop them because they’re riding really well. I think the battle will stay open until the end. We’re all separated by just a few minutes and things can change very quickly, as we saw today.”
Spica now leads the overall standings, with Becking second at 1:31 and Saitta third. Cacchi sits fourth at 8:38 and Sülzle fifth at 8:45, still within striking distance.
“We pushed hard in the finale to try and win the stage, but Vincenzo’s puncture took him out of contention at the key moment,” said the new race leader, Spica. “I sprinted for the stage win, but taking the jersey is obviously important. In the coming days we’ll try to control the race, although we’re all very close and the outcome remains wide open.”
Among the Masters, Juul Van Loon retained the Green Jersey, backing up his Stage 1 victory with another win in 4:00:45. Jon Roberts repeated his success in the Grand Master category in 4:17:37, while Bernd Büdenbender claimed victory in the Great Grand Master division in 5:45:35.
