Mads PEDERSEN. 10 with honors. The ice man defies the "canicule" and after 3 km he's already there calling the shots. He wants to rack up points for the green jersey, but above all he wants to show everyone—the green mice—what he's made of. A race dominated from start to finish, won with both legs and head by the Danish rider and his team. Absolute dominance, from a rider who has reached a level of absolute excellence and who year after year displays numbers worthy of a champion. Third victory at the Tour de France. Green jersey on his shoulders. This is what the Dane had in mind this morning, this is what he collected at the end of a day made scorching by the "canicule". He comes from the land of fairy tales, today it's Mads who writes a brand new one.

Torstein TRAEEN. 10. He defeated testicular cancer and now he's enjoying the yellow jersey that rewards him for so much fear, so many sleepless nights. The 30-year-old Norwegian rider from Uno-X, after the red jersey at the Vuelta, also takes the yellow one at the Tour and there's reason to believe he can defend it for a while. Meanwhile he wears it in front of the eyes of Thor Hushovd, the most decorated Norwegian rider who has won 10 stages at the Tour, worn 10 yellow jerseys, and taken home 3 green jerseys. Torstein in Norwegian means "Thor's stone." A rock.

Quinn SIMMONS. 9. The American champion is a born gladiator and today is a day for real people. He is very real, he's not fiction, he's not a stunt double, he doesn't know what it means to be an extra: he's the protagonist. Just behind Pedersen.

Raul GARCIA. 8. He fights until the end, trying as long as he can, but against the three Lidl-Trek riders today it was virtually impossible to come out unscathed.

Marco FRIGO. 8. If there's an attack to be made, if there's a breakaway to join, he's there. A race of physical and psychological endurance. He resists until the end.

Matias VACEK. 8. He rides a crazy race, equal to Pedersen and Simmons. A cutting-edge performance and in the end he's rewarded with the white jersey as best young rider.

Biniam GIRMAY. 7. Sly, he enters the day's breakaway and in the sprint for the Quillan intermediate sprint he beats Philipsen.

Romain GREGOIRE. 5. The French champion has a great opportunity, but in the final he overheats and in the end throws everything away, ending up in the same place.

Alex BAUDIN. 5. Yesterday he conquers the polka dot jersey of the "grimpeurs," today he can't get into a breakaway of 35 riders. Not good.

Michael MATTHEWS. 6.5. The Jayco AlUla rider needs to give meaning to his Tour and that of his entire team. Off with the wind in his face, with the group's blessing. With him will go Torstein Traeen (Uno X), Georg Zimmermann (Lotto Intermarchè), Kevin Vauquelin (Ineos Netcompany), Alexandre Delettre (Total Energies), Frank Van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Pascal Eenkhoorn and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Robert Stannard and Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious), Biniam Girmay and Marco Frigo (NSN), Alex Kirsch and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Joel Nicolau and Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural), Brent Van Moer and Quinten Hermans (Pinarello Q36.5), Nico Denz and Jan Tratnik (Red Bull Bora), Ewen Costiou and Romain Gregoire (Groupama FDJ), Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek (Lidl Trek), Nelson Oliveira, Raul Garcia Pierna and Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Georg Steinhauser, Sean Quinn and Michael Valgren (Education First), Ramses Debruyne, Jasper Philipsen and Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Premier Tech). To them, to all of them, goes a more than positive rating, because after all they decide to work overtime risking getting burned.

Simone VELASCO. 17. Not exactly a good start for the 30-year-old XDS Astana rider. Crashed in the first stage, he crashes again today, like Matej Mohoric, also on his second tumble in this Tour. They say crashes are riders' first medals, for these two today they're the only ones. What bad luck!

Nicolas VINOKUROV. 24. For the XDS Astana rider 24 candles to blow out this evening, for Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural) 26. A celebration in the group for these two riders who give themselves the gift of staying in the bunch.