As always, as regularly happens with the Giro, at the end of the great Tour journey, a veil of sadness descends. I believe I'm interpreting your thoughts too, for those of us who deeply love this sport, at the end of every journey, like a beautiful vacation, a veil of sadness nestles in our hearts.

It was a beautiful Tour, very beautiful, highly competitive, very hard and selective, designed to highlight the qualities of the great challenger Jonas Vingegaard, to add a bit more spice, but the Slovenian proved not only stronger, but also more prepared, more lucid, I'd even say more patient in the finale. In short, more of everything.

A Tour that could have been even more beautiful if Jonas had excelled in the Alps, the traditional hunting ground for the Dane, but that was not the case, not due to anyone's fault, but only because of a reckless tactical approach in the Col de la Loze stage and because of the legs he thought he could rely on in the last week, which instead completely failed him.

They criticized Tadej because he was winning too much, then because he started controlling, then because he wasn't smiling, then because he said he was cold and tired: here's the difference with the Giro. A year ago he came to the pink race and won while playing, then went serenely to the Tour. This year, after a grueling Tour, even the Slovenian showed a limit and now his participation in the Vuelta is more unlikely than likely. This is the entire difference between Giro and Tour: in the level of competition, of rivals, of averages at the limit every day, despite the over 50,000 meters of elevation gain. But let's move on to the final team ratings.

ALPECIN-DECEUNICK. 10. They came here to battle and win stages, wear yellow jerseys, and despite being forced to give up on Jasper Philipsen and then Mathieu Van der Poel (who was simply delightful while racing), they took home three stages (Philipsen, MVdP, and Groves) and five yellow jerseys (4 with Mathieu and the first with Jasper). Could they have done more? I don't think so. In their own way, they won the Tour.

INTERMARCHÈ-WANTY. 4. Three overall placements in the entire Tour with only Girmay. Too little for a team we were used to seeing perform better. Not by chance, they are last in the team classification.

UNO X MOBILITY. 9. A 6th place overall with Johannessen, eleven top-ten placements, always present in the race's action, which also brought them a stage win with Abrahansen. A Tour of a great team.

TEAM TOTALENERGIES. 6. In the end, Jegat manages to grab 10th place in the general classification. Too little for a team with great potential and an absolute top-tier sponsor. Four placements in three weeks of racing. Bare minimum.

TUDOR PROCYCLING TEAM. 6. They work hard, fight every day, make themselves seen, nearly win stages that just slip away. They collect 12 placements, but in the end, they can't make the classification and can't win stages (Trentin tried again today), leaving the bitterness of doing a lot and collecting too little.

GROUPAMA FDJ. 5.5. A bit of Gregoire, a bit of Madouas, never seeing Guillaume Martin who finishes over an hour behind. Nine top-ten placements: the team had much higher objectives.

TEAM VISMA LEASE A BIKE. 7. In terms of collected placements, they are number one, with 27 collected. They win the team classification, beating UAE by over twenty minutes, but collect only two victories, one with Giro king Simon Yates and one, the last, thanks to Van Aert's masterpiece on Butte de Montmartre. The Belgian managed to do what his captain Vingegaard never could: drop Pogacar. They want to break the world, they shout it, they repeat it: the echo still resonates along the valley towards Courchavel.

INEOS GRENADIERS. 6.5. Seven placements, two victories with a super Aresman, who finishes 12th overall and perhaps was the one who deserved to close his efforts in the top ten. They came here to make the classification with Carlos Rodriguez: let's forget about that.

UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG. 10. They came here to win the Tour and they won it. This would be enough, but they add a polka dot jersey with Pogacar, plus five stages (4 with Tadej and one with Wellens). A total of twenty-two placements and second place in the team classification. If Almeida had been there, stratospheric in the first week, perhaps the games would have been easier. Wellens gives his all, Adam Yates is worth half.

TEAM PICNIC POSTNL. 10. For me, this renewed team packed with young talents is the big surprise. Thirteen top-ten placements: all very good, with an Onley to follow and cherish like few others. Please take him to the Giro.

DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE. 6.5. Fifth place overall with Austrian Felix Gall, the best absorber of all. They try to race as a team, but there's still much room for growth. The budget is that of a big team, but they need riders.

ARKEA B&B HOTELS. 8. They start with the certainty of having no future, due to sponsors wanting to leave. They pedal as if there's no tomorrow - and indeed, there isn't - and arrive in Paris with Vauquelin in 7th place, a series of placements (9) that places them among the most active and convincing teams: perhaps they would deserve a future.

XDS ASTANA. 5.5. Our Davide Ballerini (excellent second today, placement joined by Teunissen's ninth) and Simone Velasco do something, for the rest it's a lot of spinning against the wind.

LOTTO. 4. They come especially to collect something, at least a stage. They make six top-ten placements.

SOUDAL QUICK-STEP. 8. They must give up their big star, Remco Evenepoel, forced to withdraw when he was 3rd in the general classification. However, they make more than a good impression. Always proactive, in the midst of every action, they bring home four stages with Merlier (2), Evenepoel, and Valentin Paret-Peintre. Did they lose the Tour? Yes, but if all defeats were like this...

LIDL TREK. 8. The disappointment is in the general classification, due to an unresponsive Skjielmose. Nine placements, two stage wins with Milan bringing the green jersey to the Paris podium. Allegri's Milan is back to winning, Lidl-Trek's Milan is happy.

BAHRAIN VICTORIUS. 5. We won't talk about Buitrago, for the rest 7 placements, a few days in the polka dot jersey with Lenny Martinez and in the end a very slim haul, which Mohoric's third place in Paris can't quite save.

ISRAEL PREMIER TECH. 4. Four placements enriched by a poverty of initiative.

RED BULL BORA HANSGROHE. 7. In the end, they climb the podium with Lipowitz and the old Roglic places 8th. For such an ambitious, structured team, it's clear this is not the maximum, but only a starting point.

MOVISTAR TEAM. 5. Five placements, with an Enric Mas who is a symbol of a semi-defeat.

TEAM JAYCO ALULA. 6. They could even enjoy a top ten, which inexplicably gets snatched away in the penultimate act. Six placements, a beautiful stage win in the alpine stage with O'Connor who in the end commits a naivety I cannot ignore.

EF EDUCATION EASYPOST. 7. Eight placements, one victory and two days in yellow with Ben Healy, with a 9th place overall that could have been even better if only this guy learned to manage his energy a bit better (by the way: he's the most combative rider of the race). I understand the American technical staff and the excellent Charlie Wegelius: it can't be easy to tame the Irish talent.

COFIDIS. 4. Two placements: 7th with Coquard in the 8th stage, 10th with Teuns in the Paris rain, then nothing more. Urgent reflection needed.