Tim MERLIER. 10 and praise. He delivers an impeccable, perfect sprint, even though he chooses the center of the road and therefore faces the headwind. But he has the most furious, most convincing, most aggressive and effective burst. He gives the impression of having an extra couple of teeth on the chain and in his legs. The sprint is proof of this: he wins well, without ifs and buts. For the 32-year-old Belgian, it's his third Tour stage win. The 12th of the season, the 62nd of his career. For Soudal Quick-Step, it's the third stage win in 9 contested: not bad for the team led by Davide Bramati. Is he the reference sprinter? At this moment, I believe so, exactly as Evenepoel is for time trials.

Jonathan MILAN. 7. It's not easy to catch that madman Van der Poel, because here at the Tour, people like him go on breakaways. They catch him with no small effort, and to do so Milan has to play his team card. He takes the ideal position, close to the barriers, sprints exactly when Tim starts, but the sprint of the Buja guy is good but not excellent. Yesterday an albatross, today a seagull. In any case, he's not a wet chick, he's there and for us Italians that's a big deal. Just think for a moment what it would be like if we didn't have a guy like Jonny... Thank God we have him.

Arnaud DE LIE. 7. Today he takes position, the speed is also good, but those two are too much for him.

Pavel BITTNER. 7.5. The 22-year-old Czech throws himself into the washing machine basket and comes out not too wrung out.

Paul PENHOET. 7. The 23-year-old from Groupama tries again: after Lille, when he finished 7th, today he gets a bit closer.

Biniam GIRMAY. 5.5. He's still missing something, but not much. At certain levels, even details make the difference. He gets the wrong position, gets sucked in, can't find the gap and so far has collected a 2nd place and two 6ths: for the Eritrean it's not much, but he's close.

Phil BAUHAUS. 6.5. He always manages on his own: brings home placements and points. That's not little.

Jordi MEEUS. 5.5. The Belgian from Red Bull ends up swallowed in the back. He has the skills to do much more.

Stan FREDHEIM. 6. He's only 22, but Uno X Mobility has a very promising young rider.

Kaden GROVES. 4. He's simply beaten: he seems like a poor copy of the rider we know.

Dylan GROENEWEGEN. 4. He's not there, can't even see the top ten.

Mathieu VAN DER POEL. 10. What can you say to him? Nothing. He does something exceptional. A stage all in the wind and like Aeolus, the Dutchman goes too. He believes, until the end, until 700 meters when Vincenzo Albanese (vote 8) is the first of the pursuers to catch him and try a surprise move. It was supposed to be a transfer stage, it became one of the most beautiful of this fun and lively Tour, animated by absolute champions. A stage that concludes with an average speed of 50 km/h (50.013 to be precise), the second highest ever. Tour things.

Jonas RICKAERT. 10. He takes home the most combative rider of the day award. He's the one who starts immediately at the beginning and takes the Dutch captain, Van der Poel, for a ride. He does a crazy job and at 12 km from the finish, when the group is 70 seconds behind them, he signals with his head: I'm done. Then he continues to pull like a madman for another 6 km. More than combative: Forrest Gump premium, for those who don't give up.

João ALMEIDA. 17. He can't make it. With a rib fracture, it's not easy to race, let alone in a demanding race like the Tour. Nothing doing for the Portuguese, he returns home with the best teammate award for the first week, unfortunately for him and Tadej, his Tour doesn't last much longer.