After seeing victory slip through his fingers in Riolunato, Riccardo Chiarini got his revenge in the finest possible way on the 91km and 2900m ending in Castelnovo ne’ Monti. Behind overall leader Saitta, the podium battle is wide open. Among the women, Steinburg further cements her lead ahead of tomorrow’s finale.
Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2026 will be remembered as the year of the comebacks. Every day brings a new twist; every stage, an athlete rising from the previous day’s disappointment. It happened again on Thursday June 25 on the Mountain Queen Stage, from Riolunato to Castelnovo ne’ Monti.
The most eagerly awaited day of the week went to yesterday’s great unlucky: Riccardo Chiarini. The 42-year-old from Faenza had victory in his hands in Riolunato, only for his chain to betray him in the final kilometres. Fate, it turned out, had something far greater in store – the Queen Stage, 91 km and 2,900 metres of climbing. A win made even more special for the former road cyclist by the setting: the very same piazza where Richard Carapaz claimed his Giro d’Italia stage glory a year ago.
Chiarini, Vincenzo Saitta and Hans Becking each got what they came for in Castelnovo ne’ Monti. The stage win went to Chiarini, overall control stayed with Saitta, and Becking reopened his podium fight.
Among the women, Appenninica seems to have found its queen: Greete Steinburg. The Estonian claimed her second consecutive stage win and now holds a commanding lead over Lola Bakker and Mara Parisi.
In an edition this unpredictable, though, nothing should be written off just yet. There are still 53 km and 1,900 metres of climbing to go, and on the trails of Emilia-Romagna the race is never truly over.
CHIARINI: FROM HEARTBREAK TO THE BIGGEST WIN
Stage 4 opened much like Stage 3, with Chiarini forcing the pace from the gun. The Faenza rider went clear on the first climb but was quickly brought back by the favourites – Vincenzo Saitta, Emanuele Spica, Luca Cacchi and Marek Sülzle. Becking chose to trust his gut and ride his own race, working his way up gradually.
At the front, Cacchi made a move to shed his companions, but was reeled in before eventually losing the lead group to the heat and fatigue. Spica was the first to crack, though he managed to keep things together and limit his losses. Saitta and Chiarini held firm at the top with Sülzle on their wheels, and with 20 kilometres to go Becking completed his comeback to the front.
The three rode the finale as a unit, sharing turns smoothly – each with his own objective, and the outcome satisfied all of them.
Chiarini crossed the line for Torpado Kenda FSA in 4:26:51, with Saitta one second back and Becking at three. Sülzle conceded 47 seconds; Spica finished fifth at 9:34, ahead of Cacchi at 12:51.
“I’m over the moon – this one meant everything to me,” said Chiarini at the finish. “Yesterday things didn’t go my way, but honestly, if I’d won then I wouldn’t have come back today with this kind of fire. I needed to try again. I was lucky to find an agreement with Vincenzo and Hans in the finale, and I have to thank them – giving up a Queen Stage win isn’t something you do lightly. The stage for me, the time gaps for them.”
Today’s result all but seals the Barbieri PNK Blue Jersey. Saitta leads by 9:36 over Sülzle, who has been rock-solid throughout the whole week. The podium fight, however, is anything but settled: Becking is third at 9:42, just six seconds behind the German, while Spica sits fourth at 12:20 with 2:38 to make up. The battle for fifth looks equally fierce – Cacchi holds just 37 seconds over Chiarini going into the final stage.
“Today we needed to stay at the front and keep things under control,” said Saitta. “Chiarini pushed early on, we came back together and rode as a group from there. In the finale we had an agreement: I locked down the overall, Riccardo won the stage. He deserved it.”
Among the Masters, Oscar Pujol took his second stage win of the race in 5:01:56, while Juul Van Loon remains firmly in command of the overall standings. In the Gran Masters, Jon Roberts’ winning streak finally comes to an end – the queen stage goes to Mirko Pirazzoli in 5:41:33, though the Welshman holds on to lead the category. Emiel Kunkeler took the Great Grand Masters stage in 7:10:54, with Bernd Büdenbender still leading overall.
STEINBURG: QUEEN OF STAGE AND STANDINGS
The Mountain Queen Stage confirmed what the women’s race has been telling us all week. Despite pressure from her rivals, Greete Steinburg was simply the strongest rider on the road, adding another stage win to her overall lead.
Syd Schulz and Luiza De Souza tested the pace on the opening climb, but Steinburg covered both moves seamlessly. Mara Parisi tried to hold on just behind, while Lola Bakker struggled to find her rhythm in the early going.
As the stage wore on, De Souza’s challenge faded and Steinburg moved to the front. Parisi hit a difficult patch between kilometres 40 and 60, which Bakker used to claw back onto Schulz.
A brief lapse in concentration from Steinburg handed the lead to the Bakker-Schulz duo, but on the descent into Castelnovo ne’ Monti the Estonian reasserted herself with authority. The Barbieri PNK Pink Jersey crossed the line in 6:00:34, with 3:27 over Schulz.
Bakker was third at 4:58 – a result that effectively ends her hopes of defending the 2025 title. Parisi finished fourth at 6:26, De Souza fifth at nearly half an hour.
“Today was brutal – the heat was really something,” said Steinburg. “I’m thrilled with how it went, but my legs were heavy in the finale. There’s one more day and I know it won’t be easy: head down, stay focused.”
Steinburg’s overall lead now stands at 8:20 over Bakker and 14:12 over Parisi. Schulz is fourth at just over thirty minutes, De Souza rounds out the top five.
STAGE 5: CASTELNOVO NE’ MONTI – CASTELNOVO NE’ MONTI
The final chapter of Appenninica MTB Stage Race 2026 will be a loop starting and finishing in Piazza Matteotti, Castelnovo ne’ Monti – the town’s main square coming alive for the occasion with food trucks, live music and the closing ceremony.
Before the celebrations, though, there are still 53 km and 1,900 metres of climbing to get through on the Windy Way Home. The route revolves around the Monte Ventasso area, with a long opening climb of 30 km to Lago Calamone, followed by a fast, technical and unforgiving descent back towards the city – with one final passage beneath the shadow of the Bismantova Rock before the finish line.
Final reward: the 2026 finisher’s medal, earned across five days of suffering and stunning mountain scenery.
