Thymen ARENSMAN. 10 and praise. The Pyrenean stage is his. The Dutch Pelican does something special and he realizes it, showing his disbelief at the finish line. It wasn't easy, absolutely not obvious with those two behind him, but the 25-year-old Ineos TotalEnergie rider seizes the right moment to move and breaks away on the Col de Peyresourde, riding solo for the remaining 35 kilometers. He takes a risk, but he can't do otherwise. He must try to anticipate, and he does it brilliantly. At Superbagnères, he's truly super. He wins his first Tour, and his satisfaction is more than justified. Courage is rewarded, he finds it in the Tourmalet stage, on July 19th, which is the yellow jersey's birthday. In short, he honors history and writes a bit of his own, with a Pelican.

Tadej POGACAR. 9. He controls the situation, without overdoing it: at least today. His team shows the world they're up to the task, and he, the flying Slovenian, waits for Jonas to do something. When he does, he responds without blinking and wins the sprint by a margin, gaining four seconds today.

Jonas VINGEGAARD. 9. If he didn't exist, we'd have to invent him. His race conduct, his stubborn desire to try is simply applause-worthy. Will the Martian have a drop in form? If I don't try, I'll be left with regret, he seems to say. Jonas does what he must. He does what he says. If Jonas didn't exist, we'd have to invent him; if Taddeo weren't here, he would have already won the Tour.

Felix GALL. 8. He tries to do what Arensman does effectively. The Austrian moves forward, but a bit later than the flying Dutchman. In any case, a race worthy of applause.

Florian LIPOWITZ. 7.5. Confirms he's in Tour mode and more than suitable for this race, which is the non plus ultra. Here, riders fight like gladiators, and he's no pushover.

Oscar ONLEY. 8. The Picnic kid knows today is one of those days where everything good done so far can be lost. He settles in and defends brilliantly.

Ben HEALY. 6. He's a climber and would have the opportunity to plant his flag in the queen stage. He tries, but doesn't have the pace to keep up with the best, although in the end he arrives with the best, doing what finally needs to be done: going up at his own pace, trying to manage his strength. He doesn't win the stage, but enters the top ten.

Primoz ROGLIC. 6. He has the opportunity to climb back up well. Stays attached to those two, but then falls apart. It's not a day to throw away, quite the opposite. There are other good days to find.

Tobias JOHANNESSEN. 6. The 25-year-old Norwegian gives his all, but today is a game of endurance. Today, no rider is just strolling. It's a slow via crucis of 5,000 meters of elevation gain. A constant journey into pain, and he expiates the cyclists' guilt admirably.

Kevin VAUQUELIN. 6.5. The 25-year-old Frenchman is a little Hercules always standing. He bends but doesn't break. He moves back but doesn't sink. He slows down but doesn't stop. Indeed, he gains a position in the general classification: he's 5th.

Carlos RODRIGUEZ. 6. He races another race, that of those who must grit their teeth, but tonight he's there, in the top ten.

Ben O'CONNOR. 6. Much suffering, much mental exercise to not let go. A constant search between strength and resistance, tenacity and will. He climbs back some positions, the top ten is just two steps away. Really two.

Lenny MARTINEZ. 6.5. The Bahrain kid flies on the Tourmalet, even risking flying during the descent. Then he collects points for his polka dot jersey: now he has 8 more than Pogacar. They're few, too few, but at least he's heading towards closing the week with a nice jersey. Who knows how happy grandpa Mariano, dad Miguel, and "uncle" Ivano Fanini are.

Julian ALAPAHILIPPE. 11. On the Tourmalet wrapped in fog, LouLou tears a sign from a fan and stuffs a piece of that cardboard under his jersey to protect himself during the descent. Old remedies in a "marginal gains" cycling, a romantic gesture from one of the most spectacular riders of his generation.

Remco EVENEPOEL. 17. He understands from the morning that it's not his day, not his Tour anymore, that something is wrong and Remco isn't going. 102 kilometers from the finish, after repeatedly calling the team car, he stops. End of a suffering, of a very fast and exhausting Tour that drains your mind and soul, emptying your legs. An end to seek a new beginning. To understand what happened. Personally, he could have spared himself the gestures of anger towards the cameras capturing his sporting drama. He's still the white jersey of the race, still the current Olympic champion, still Remco Evenepoel, one of the great prodigies of this cycling. He asks for respect, but he should also have it for the cameraman who does his job and is there to document what happens in the race.

Jonny MILAN. 7. Three Pyrenean stages and our Friulian giant doesn't hold back, does what he must do. Today he goes alone towards an intermediate finish line that's perhaps too far, indeed he stops or is stopped. In any case, he takes home the points he was set to collect, without anyone helping him, without race rules being changed mid-course. He knows he has to race and races. What more is needed?

Gianluca CROCETTI. 4. The "blame" would have been Tadej Pogacar's, who goes too fast. Perhaps also Vingegaard and Roglic, who weren't going slowly. The fact is that the jury panel chaired by Crocetti thought it wise yesterday to raise the maximum time: from 33% (which is already a lot) to 40% of the winner's time. This allowed riders like Girmay, Demare, Reinders, Mezgec, and Tim Merlier to stay in the race. A disastrous decision that distorted the race. What can we say to Jonathan Milan, who did his best to make an honorable attempt respecting the set times? What do we tell him if in a few days Tim Merlier beats him and maybe takes away points crucial for winning the green jersey? To go to the jury panel and wave a yellow card in their faces.