
Nicolas PRODHOMME. 10 and praise. A victory at the Tour of The Alps, one at the Giro d'Italia and "les jeux sont faits". This 28-year-old French rider from Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale wins big, starting this morning at km 5 with a group of attackers. Along the way, he encounters climbs and leaves contenders for the final victory behind. A sumptuous, applause-worthy victory that opens the heart.
Isaac DEL TORO. 10. They already wrote him off, but Isaac resists with personality and determination. Almost all the former professionals in the paddock had given him up: he's too young, he won't survive on certain climbs, especially today's stage. Well, today's stage is archived and cataloged as "routine administration". Tomorrow is the Colle delle Finestre, the unspeakable Peak of this Giro, the "C" Peak of the "pink race". If they attack him like today, tomorrow on the gravel he will definitely suffer: he's allergic to dust.
Richard CARAPAZ. 5.5. It's clear he's the only big name trying, but his attack is just a tickle. A little jump that the child responds to with a pacifier in his mouth. Obviously, tomorrow is another day and the day after tomorrow the Giro is over and from Monday it will be vacation time. We know everything.
Damiano CARUSO. 7. It's crazy, he doesn't have the age: better than Gigliola Cinquetti.
Brandon MCNULTY. 9. The UAE lets others set the pace: Visma and Red Bull. When the pace drops, they (Brandon and Majka: Adam Yates does the bare minimum) ensure no one catches a breath. Everyone with their tongue hanging out, everyone intent on keeping wheels: Isaac keeps the jersey.
Egan BERNAL. 7. He's not brilliant, struggles a lot, but in the end brings home a placement that says as long as there's life, there's hope. And we hope with him.
Simon YATES. 4. If he's thinking about tomorrow, why did he make his team pull today? If he was thinking about today, why did he make them pull and then didn't pedal an inch more? The unnamed remains such: if you stay in the shadows, that's your light.
Antonio TIBERI. 7. The Roman tries, despite not being as brilliant as he would like. Sore side, suffering muscles, Antonio has the merit of trying and attacking from the start with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Sylvain Moniquet (Team Cofidis), Nicolas Prudhomme (Decathlon Ag2r) and Georg Steinhauser (Ef Education), Louis Meintjes (Intermarchè Wanty) and Carlos Verona (Lidl Trek), Chris Harper (Jayc Alula) and Romain Bardet (PicNic Postnle), Bart Lemmen (Visma Lease a Bike) and Igor Arrieta (Uae Team Emirates Xrg). Antonio will stay in the race with his teeth, with a will that deserves applause and should have been rewarded.
Einer RUBIO. 7. Avant-garde race, for a rider who is a manifesto of retro-avant-garde.
Derek GEE. 6. Fights, attacks, relaunches, moves, tries something, even if his priority is not losing wheels. Loses some seconds in the final rush.
Giulio PELLIZZARI. 7. Stays in his place, in a demanding and difficult stage, too bad for that slip at the end, at the last curve: hits the billboards, anyway better than crashing on Col Panthaleon.
Michael STORER. 7. Race of resistance and resilience: arrives behind but is one of the few who makes a leap forward: gains a position in the general classification. Now he's 9th.
Davide PIGANZOLI. 5. The Valtellina rider from Polti VisitMalta suffers through the race at every moment, unable to attack it as a boy of his age and with his skills should. Loses contact from too large a group on Col de Jeux, with 11 km still to go to the GPM and too far from the end of the race.
Lorenzo FORTUNATO. 8. He may have left the Valentine's Day stage, but today Christian Scaroni worked for him, taking the points at Col Tzecore. He takes them, takes them away from opponents, Lorenzo enjoys and mathematically secures the blue Mediolanum jersey.
Mads PEDERSEN. 8. Wins an intermediate sprint and settles the accounts for the cyclamen ITA jersey. Never has a jersey been more deserved: four stage wins, a Giro as an absolute protagonist.