Paul MAGNIER. 10 with honors. He thinks he's lost it, that he's let the moment slip away, but he doesn't lose heart: that's why he wins. The guy has talent to spare and you can see it with the naked eye. Davide Bramati has been talking to me about him for some time now, and he's seen plenty of riders pass under his nose and has always had a good instinct for spotting them. He sees, evaluates and follows: that's Bramati. He listens, learns and wins: that's Magnier. A beautiful partnership, a beautiful team, a beautiful Tour. For now in Bulgaria, from Tuesday also in Italy. But by now Paul has taken the measure of things, he knows what to do even when he thinks he's lost, and it will be very difficult to hold back either his talent or his flair.

Jonathan MILAN. 5.5. He thinks he's won and we all think so too. He starts a bit long, takes the last corner as if he were on the track, but that final cobbled section with its stone cubes makes him lose a bit of grip as well. Plenty of power, but his sprint isn't fluid, it's not composed, it's too wasteful: in the sense that his watts are being lost. And he loses too.

Dylan GROENEWEGEN. 6.5. The 32-year-old Dutchman throws himself into the fray and fits right in. He gets there, with his wheel not too far from Magnier's and Milan's. He's almost in line: he's just short.

Madis MIHKELS. 7. Two sprints, two top-five finishes for this 22-year-old Estonian from EF Education Easy-Post. He does it all on his own, with great positional sense and excellent technical ability.

Matteo MALUCELLI. 7. The 32-year-old rider from Forlì with XDS Astana enters the top ten: it's not news, but confirmation that he'll be a presence in this Tour. We'll see him again.

Erlend BLIKRA. 6. He tries to make himself seen, to stay up front, and in the end he brings something back to the hotel.

Pascal ACKERMANN. 6. For now he's the 7th man. In the sense that in two sprints he's finished seventh. It may not be the best, but it's also too early to say if this is all there is.

Davide BALLERINI. 6. He also contributes to keeping the morale of the "company of the light blues" high, already elevated by Thomas Silva's pink jersey.

Tobias LUND ANDRESEN. 6. He's one of many Decathlon riders who deserves attention. The 23-year-old Dane, after finishing 2nd in the opening stage in Burgas, repeats today with a 9th place that tells us that, all things considered, he's always there.

Enrico ZANONCELLO. 6. He's the 28-year-old Bardiani CSF 7 Saber rider who gives the Reverberi team their first top-ten finish in this Tour. A small result, for a Tour that's still too small.

Giovanni LONARDI. 5. It could be his chance too, but he misses it.

Diego Pablo SEVILLA. 10. In the breakaway again today, for the third day, in his Mediolanum light blue jersey. A race of sacrifice and great substance.

Manuele TAROZZI. 9. The Bardiani CSF 7 Saber rider spends the whole day in the breakaway with Alessandro Tonelli and Diego Pablo Sevilla in the Polti VisitMalta light blue jersey, both from Polti VisitMalta. For a long time he even gets the satisfaction of wearing the virtual pink jersey, but he can't take it from Guillermo Thomas Silva. An insane stage, as if there were no tomorrow. Anything but banal promotional actions for the cameras, this is a high-level action that almost pulls off an upset. They're caught 400 meters from the finish line, amid the applause of all the sports fans. They come away empty-handed, but their hearts are certainly full of desire for revenge.

Paolo BELLINO. 8. Things done the Bulgarian way: which means done well and with passion. And the passion was clearly seen over these three days, nothing like Albania. A town square celebration, a celebration of the people, here in Sofia too, which has greeted our creation, because the Tour is still a national heritage. Long live Bulgaria, long live the sixteenth departure from abroad. As they say in these cases? A winning bet. And compliments should go to whoever made this possible: Paolo Bellino, CEO and General Director of Rcs Sport & Events.

Thomas SILVA. 9. The Uruguayan rider goes into the rest day with the pink jersey, on the birthday of the symbol of the Giro d'Italia, born on May 10, 1931 and first worn by Learco Guerra. For the second day Silva holds the pink jersey with 4" over Stork and Bernal, and it will be him, the young talent of Xds Astana, 24 years old, who will wear it into Italy.