Magdeleine VALLERES. 10 and praise. The world champion you don't expect. The underdog who turns the world championship script upside down, who confuses the cards, who hides some to show others. A crazy race, defying the hard and selective world championship that would have rewarded the strongest, because the race would have been simple and elementary, almost didactic. What emerged was a mad race that rewards the courage of second and third-line riders, who steal nothing and take what the big names leave in their hands due to manifest superficiality. Let them go, we'll catch them anyway - yeah, right. Maddalena steals nothing, wears the rainbow jersey at the end of a crazy race where she made no mistakes. At 24 and a year early, she takes the world title to Canada, where it will be up for grabs in twelve months. She got ahead, and some let her do so.

Niamh FISHER-BLACK. 9. The 25-year-old New Zealand athlete can blame herself for very little, does everything she needs to do, and in the finale, when Maddalena attacks, she tries to contain, but her energy is what it is.

Mavi GARCIA. 9. At 41, she takes home a bronze that's worth gold. When they say talent, determination, heart, so much heart, but also a lot of head - and today the Spanish rider used it wonderfully.

Antonia NIEDERMAIER. 6. She also rides a great race, but right at the crucial moment, she pays the price of fatigue.

Demi VOLLERING. 5. She's one of the big expectations who doesn't show up. Or rather, you see her because she declines every change. Not a single extra pedal stroke. She only tries not to lose the wheels and to get back every time, with difficulty.

Marlen REUSSER. 6.5. On the penultimate lap, the 34-year-old Swiss rider makes an applause-worthy action. One full lap to try to reshuffle the cards: this alone is worth the ticket price. She finishes behind Vollering, but these are just details.

Kasia NIEWIADOMA. 5.5. She would have all the right cards to have a great world championship, instead, in the end, she suffers it: from beginning to end.

Elisa Longo BORGHINI. 6. Clearly, she loses. She was among the big favorites and ends up in the vortex of rivalries. The tough race was supposed to simplify everything, instead it complicates things immensely. At least she has the merit of trying, repeatedly. She even tries to talk to her direct rivals, who make it clear without many words that they wouldn't do more than what they've done. In the finale, I had the feeling they were racing to not bring Elisa back... it's just my impression.

Pauline FERRAND-PREVOT. 4. Perhaps she was the big favorite, but the French superstar is truly a poor copy of herself. She didn't even want to come to these world championships, maybe she was right.

Barbara MALCOTTI. 8. She puts in all her heart, all her legs, all her lungs, her entire self. She puts everything into being useful to the cause and is very useful. Like her teammates: all excellent.