Davide BALLERINI. 10 with honors. He breaks the ice after more than three years without a win in Turkey and grabs a lemon delight at the finish line in Naples at the Giro, just steps away from the Gambrinus. A balancing act and virtuoso on the pedals, but what legs, what heart and what vision. Yes, also a pinch of good luck, which is always needed, especially today, to avoid that cloud of Fantozzi that appears right at the best moment, ruining everything a bit. But how clever to dribble past everything and everyone. How clever to keep everything and everyone at bay, especially Stuyven, who doesn't give up, but it's Davide who wins, who goes against destiny Goliath and often cheats. He's no longer a kid – he says – but he's not a Methuselah either: Davide is the right age to get more satisfaction, there's time for retirement: maybe in Naples.

Jasper STUYVEN. 8. He stays on his feet, avoids the pile-up, but cannot avoid the appointment with history that Davide Ballerini has built by the book: he can only be an eyewitness to it.

Paul MAGNIER. 10. Technically it deserves a standing ovation. He ends up in the crash pile-up, puts his foot down, but he's agile as a ferret and in a flash he's back in the saddle. From ferret to jaguar is just a moment and if there were still road ahead, he'd be a gazelle.

Luca MOZZATO. 7. He stays in the top positions and brings home a placement that does him nothing but good.

Filippo MAGLI. 7. Sprint turned upside down by the crash, he zigzags to stay afloat and floats perfectly.

Enrico ZANONCELLO. 7. For him too, reaching the top ten is a great, big result. He achieves it with patience and speed.

Mattia BAIS. 7. The Polti VisitMalta rider wins the only mountain point of the day: something to bring home to the hotel.

Manuele TAROZZI. 7. The Romagnolo from Bardiani CSF 7 Saber takes home the intermediate sprint. A sprint worth 12 points for the special Ciclamino jersey classification.

Giulio CICCONE. 8. He arrives with eyes bloodshot and the tight smile of someone who wants to scream his own rage. When asked what spirit you'll face the Blockhaus with tomorrow, the Abruzzese hisses sharply a simple: "The spirit ended in yesterday's stage".

Luca VERGALLITO. 7. The bandit doesn't escape, he simply goes on the attack: in cycling that's allowed. It's permitted. It's desirable. Today he takes off with his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Edward Planckaert. With them Martin Marcellusi, Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) and Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta). A marked day, free of difficulties: the categorical imperative is to stay on your feet. Mission accomplished.

Francesco PANCANI. 10 with honors and academic kiss. Already yesterday he made himself heard and appreciated for taking a stand against the village idiots, those with cell phones and smoke bombs or those who get too close to the riders. Today he did more and better, as a true and authentic witness of public service. He resorted to VAR, in the sense that he had the incident reviewed with a magnifying glass so that the competent authorities could better identify this phenomenon who, on several occasions, in a roundabout, makes the gesture of running towards the riders to scare them. He has a blast going back and forth, even extending his right leg, in an attempt to make them brake suddenly causing them to lose concentration and balance. This phenomenon, aided and encouraged by another lunatic on day release, would deserve a punch on the nose à la Wladimir Belli (Giro 2001, Santa Barbara climb: punch to a rowdy fan), but since we preach correctness, we can only hope that someone can intercept him to make him spend at least a couple of hours of anxiety.