In Fanano, Italy, Tim Smeenge today won the 62 kilometer long fourth stage in the Appenninica MTB stage race by beating compatriot Hans Becking in the sprint. Smeenge attacked from the start, took a nice lead, but Becking joined him again on the descent. In the last climb the men stayed together and it was man against man until the finish.
during the 2023 Appenninica mountain bike stage race held in the Emilia-Romagna Apennines in Italy. image by Michael ChiarettaA nice boost for Smeenge, who had a difficult start with a fifth place in the first stage in which he lost a lot of time to the competition. Hans Becking won this first stage. The second stage made up for a lot for Smeenge with third place behind winner Tiago Ferreira. Yesterday things went a bit wrong in the third stage and a wrong turn and a flat tire threw a spanner in the works, resulting in another fifth place. Hans Becking took his second victory of the day and is comfortably in the lead in the general classification ahead of Ferreira and Smeenge. There are two more stages to ride in the Appenninica MTB stage race.