Mads PEDERSEN. 10 and praise. In the land of the Albanians, a Dane is king. He wins the Tour of Albania, with two arrows hitting the target and two pink jerseys that are a first for Danish cycling: never before had anyone managed to wear the leader's jersey even for a day. The Lidl-Trek captain has this merit, in addition to honoring this "three-day" race in the land of eagles as few have. From tomorrow, the scenarios change and the Giro d'Italia officially begins: let's see if Mads still has the same hunger for victory.

Primoz ROGLIC. 10. He's there, 9" from the jersey he wore for just one day, but intends to reclaim it a bit further down the line when conditions are right. For now, he has already put all his direct rivals behind him, more or less. He's on the launch pad, and for someone who comes from ski jumping, he's not the type to suffer from vertigo. Flying high has always been his forte; flying high to stay there is his distinctive trait.

Mathias VACEK. 9. The Czech guy has shown himself brilliantly, and it's likely we'll see more of him. He's currently the third force in this Giro, a Lidl-Trek ally of Pedersen and Ciccone. He's only 22 and has a radiant future ahead of him, even if the present is already of considerable splendor.

Brandon MCNULTY. 7. The American from UAE Team Emirates XRG is one of the team's pieces playing with two points: Ayuso and Adam Yates. The American is the metronome of a team that finds itself with eyes closed, even if the most important things are yet to be seen.

Isaac DEL TORO. 8. The young Mexican can be an alternative and surprise, certainly an additional opportunity for a team (UAE) that cannot do without him.

Max POOLE. 6.5. Three days and we've immediately learned to know this 22-year-old boy from Picnic, a Dutch formation that didn't come to take day trips. Max is already there: in Poole position.

Antonio TIBERI. 6. He started to arrive in Rome much better than a year ago. The race is long and wide, we hope Antonio climbs: to the podium.

Michael STORER. 6. Coming from Trentino (read Tota, won) with ambitions to make the classification in the Giro. He's the reference man for Tudor, and knowing him, he'll be punctual.

Giulio PELLIZZARI. 7. He's only 21 and has great admiration for Tadej Pogacar. Today he rides with the other Slovenian, Primoz Roglic, in Red Bull with the task of stealing the trade, learning it, assimilating it, making it his own, to then set up on his own.

Richard CARAPAZ. 5.5. He came to the Giro with the joy of being here because he likes this race. The start wasn't brilliant, but the Ecuadorian is a diesel, and these three days were for super people.

Davide PIGANZOLI. 6. The 22-year-old from Valtellina of Team Polti Visit Malta is one of the most interesting and expected riders of this Giro. First three stages not exactly suitable for him, but despite this, he has already obtained a placement and is there, just 49" from the pink jersey.

Thomas PIDCOCK. 5. He was one of the most anticipated names in this Albanian three-day, for now not only has he made himself desired, but we've also had to wait for him. Slow progress, after an expensive spring, hoping he hasn't arrived at this Giro with energy at rock bottom.

Giulio CICCONE. 7.5. Generous, reactive, sparkling like few others: he does what he must do and does it the Ciccone way, with exuberance and strength. He has Friday's stage in Tagliacozzo, his home, in front of his fans in his sights. A stage to then try to raise the bar.

Egan BERNAL. 5.5. With what he's had, with what he's been through, his start is in line with what he's had and what he's had to go through. He must resist, try not to lose too much contact, he's for the last week, to try to stay up there, where eagles dare and a few years ago he dared too.

Romain BARDET. 5.5. Difficult start, waiting for the difficult to go away easily.

David GAUDU. 5. The Groupama FDJ rider is already over a minute behind, starting with a handicap, hoping to find his joker.

Derek GEE. 5. Loses a lot of ground, hoping it's for a comeback.

Wout VAN AERT. 4. It's clear he's not well, just as it's equally clear that now he'll have to try to find his best condition along the way. Giro all uphill, but for the Van Aert we know, it's not a problem. The problem, if anything, is finding the shine of his best days.

Lorenzo FORTUNATO. 7. The Bologna rider from XDS Astana Team returns to Italy with his nice blue jersey of the GPM classification. Mountain jersey, for someone used to climbing, not gears, but mountains. Over to Marcello Marchesi, sublime humorist: "At school, I was the best last in class".

Giovanni ALEOTTI. 7. He's one of the Italian riders at the service of King Roglic. His impact with the Giro is more than convincing: effective and solid like few others, always in the midst of actions, always useful to his captain. Generous and industrious, the difficult for Giovanni has yet to come, but starting this well is absolutely not easy.