Jasper PHILIPSEN. 10 and praise. He's a cat, but more importantly, a little phantom: you don't see him, but in the end he pops up everywhere. From disaster to master, call him what you want, maybe it's best to simply call him by his first and last name, Jasper Philipsen, the world's strongest sprinter. Ten wins at the Tour, five at the Vuelta, none at the Giro because he's never raced it (who knows why). Fifth this season, 56 in his career, sixteen for Alpencin, absolute champion numbers.

Elia VIVIANI. 10. At 36, he's still there fighting with these young guys who make him feel young. Superb fight, he's magisterial. In terms of sprinting, if Philipsen is a master, Elia is not just a prophet, but a rector. Magnificent rector of world sprinting, who throws himself in, slips through, moves, shifts, accelerates and sprints and arrives there, second, by a hair. Nothing: the jury downgrades him because he moves from the center to the barriers, slows down Philipsen who shouts and he lets him pass. Nothing, today's juries look at a hair. Nothing doing, today's juries look at what they want (Coquard also downgraded), but by my standards it's absolutely clean, but I'm a boomer, out of time. Nothing, even for me. For Elia, three punches on the handlebars, out of anger. Head down, from exhaustion. Short breath, from discouragement. Sad eyes, for a missed opportunity. But how beautiful is this eternal boy who sheds tears of bitterness, who sprints as he should, who behaves as he must, who speaks in a light tone with the hope that he can continue, pushing retirement further away: for him, for us, it's convenient. Question: didn't our Professional teams want a professional of this caliber and these qualities?

Ethan VERNON. 8. The 25-year-old from Israel fights for the stage, fights for the green jersey, fights to the end and, after Elia's downgrade, finishes second.

Arne MARIT. 7.5. The 26-year-old Belgian from Intermarche Wanty throws himself into the mix with courage and clarity and comes out to applause.

Anders FOLDAGER. 6.5. The Dane from Jayco AlUla tries to stay up front and in the end the 24-year-old from Skive brings something home.

Ben TURNER. 5. Filippo Ganna brings him great into the sprint zone, but the Brit gets lost in the waves of a tempestuous sprint.

Mads PEDERSEN. 6. He practically does the sprint alone, trying to find the spark, the space, the momentum. None of this happens, finishes 9th after Viviani and Coquard's downgrade. The consolation is that he wins the group sprint at the flying finish, valid for fourth place, preceding in order two Israel men: Vernon and Stewart. In short, the green jersey is still his with 9 points ahead of Vernon and 12 over Philipsen: what a fight!

Sergio SAMITIER. 7.5. He's the most experienced, as well as the only World Tour rider in the trio, the group that today leaves a deep mark in this stage dominated by boredom and a tourist-like average. Clearly, the three do what they can and do it very well. They get involved and play, until the end or almost. With the Cofidis rider, his countrymen Joan Bou (Caja Rural) and Jose Luis Faura (Burgos Burpellet). The 29-year-old Cofidis rider also wins the day's flying finish, Faura and Bou pass in this order without sprinting. The three are caught by the group after 146 km of breakaway: 17 km from the finish line.

Luca VERGALLITO. 17. Yesterday the 27-year-old Milanese did not start due to intestinal problems, today the same fate befalls the 27-year-old Uruguayan rider Eric Fagundez (Burgos-Burpellet-BH) and George Bennett (Israel Premier Tech).