Jonas VINGEGAARD. 10 with honors. A second stage victory for the man who is here for the ultimate prize, the absolute finish in Rome. He wins while leaving the pink jersey on Eulalio's shoulders, because what matters to him is the final one: no point wasting nervous and physical energy: it will come anyway. He wins by kissing the handlebars with the image of his wife (Trine) and his children (Frida and Hugo) for the umpteenth time. There will be other victories (there are still five mountain finishes, he could really sweep them all) because he is the strongest, the most lucid and the coldest, in some ways even the most cynical. He lets others do their thing, while Jonas plays it safe, plays like a cat with a mouse. He's in a different league, a different dimension. He's here but he's also elsewhere, because the Dane has one fixed thought: winning the Giro while thinking about the Tour.

Felix GALL. 8. He deserves credit for trying, for making the first move, but in the last kilometer, when Jonas attacked, he couldn't follow.

Davide PIGANZOLI. 9. He does the work of a great rider. He puts himself at the service of the team and his captain, then once the work is done he also holds his position. Majestic.

Thymen ARENSMAN. 7. A burst of pride for the Netcompany Dutchman. He's not yet brilliant, but he shines. Meanwhile in one fell swoop he makes a triple jump: now he's 6th.

Afonso EULALIO. 8. The Portuguese rider keeps the pink jersey with full merit. As is logical, he can't keep pace with those two up there, but the Bahrain boy of Franco Pellizotti defends himself with great personality and loses very little. Just a handful of seconds, to remain first.

Derek GEE WEST. 5.5. The 28-year-old Canadian rider does what he has always done and what he does best: defend. Perhaps something more can be expected from the captain designated by Lidl-Trek, but being a diesel engine, he'll do something better. Playing it safe.

Mathys RONDEL. 8. The 22-year-old French Tudor rider confirms himself as the revelation of this Giro d'Italia along with his fellow countryman Paul Magnier. Today he's there too, with the best protagonists of the pink race. One more step: 7th in the general classification. Superb.

Sepp KUSS. 8. He is one of the great protagonists of Visma Lease a Bike. He escorts Jonas Vingegaard around Italy, he knows how it's done and always does it with great attention and effectiveness.

Jai HINDLEY. 6. He's doing better than Pellizzari, that's for sure, but he's not brilliant. In any case he's holding on and gains a position in the general classification. Now he's at the foot of the podium.

Michael STORER. 6. He's the second choice of Tudor, the diesel engine that can always come up with something. Meanwhile he's there and there are two of them.

Giulio CICCONE. 6.5. He tries to enter the day's breakaway, but doesn't make it. He tries again with Ulissi and Aerts a bit further ahead and at -60 from the finish the trio is caught by the eight leaders. For a while he plays hide and seek, in an exercise of thanatosis typical of animals that must save their skin and pretend to be dead. Then he enters the scene and takes it for a while. It doesn't go well for him, but at least he tries. Try again Giulio!

Christian SCARONI. 6.5. He's riding a Giro worthy of applause. Always in the thick of it, always in the heart of the race, in the end he finishes not far from the winner and in the general classification he slips only one position. Now he's 5th: flying high.

Davide BALLERINI. 6.5. Passage at the Marzabotto intermediate sprint, the king of Naples takes the sprint, ahead of Jonas Geens (Alpecin - Premier Tech) and Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber). After so much effort, he brings something home.

Egan BERNAL. 5. We hoped to see him more lively, but for now this is what we have.

Ben O'CONNOR. 5. The 30-year-old Australian rider from Jayco AlUla has the opportunity to stay in the upper zones of the classification, instead today he finishes behind.

Martin LOPEZ. 5. Today he had the opportunity to make some progress. It doesn't go as hoped.

Giulio PELLIZZARI. 5. He struggles a lot, very much. It's clear that something has happened. He's not well and it shows.

Enric MAS. 4. He arrives after the group: knocked out.

Lorenzo MILESI. 9. The Movistar boy is eager and he's not alone. He wants to get into the game and immediately starts playing. Off at full speed with Edward Planckaert (Alpecin - Premier Tech) and Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana Team). At km 39 the two are caught by six other riders: Jonas Geens (Alpecin - Premier Tech), Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Einer Rubio (Movistar Team), Tim Naberman (Team Picnic PostNL), Mattia Bais (Team Polti VisitMalta) and Sakarias Koller Løland (Uno-X Mobilità). This is the action that narrates the first part of the race. A story of attackers, who try to upset the odds, who try to give a different meaning to the race. Lorenzo rides a crazy race: he brings Rubio to the finish and only 10 km from the line he raises the white flag. Applause.