Tim MERLIER. 10 with honors. Stuyven puts him in the right position: not too far ahead and not too far back. Then, like the magician he is, he works his magic and reveals himself to the world, emerging from the cylinder, pardon, from the peloton, with explosive force and mastery. Nothing to say: he wins without ifs or buts. He wins by a distance, leaving his rivals with their legs dangling. Fourth stage victory at the Tour, his seventh of the season. His 72nd of his career. Numbers worthy of a number one.

Soren WAERENSKJOLD. 8. The 26-year-old Norwegian from Uno-X Mobility throws himself into the fray with great courage. He's not among the favorites, there are much bigger names than his, but he takes flight: lightly.

Biniam GIRMAY. 6.5. After 6th place in the first sprint, today 3rd: the Eritrean is always there. He has the right position, but in the final acceleration he's clearly missing something.

Max KANTER. 7. He had already thrown himself into the mix at Pau bringing home an honorable finish (2nd), today the German from Cottbus is 4th. In short, the XDS Astana rider is now firmly established in the select group of jet-powered riders.

Jasper PHILIPSEN. 4. Today we admire for the first time Mathieu Van der Poel (rating 8) who delivers him a masterful sprint. He brings him to supersonic speed at 200 meters, the Belgian could almost kick into an open goal, but it's his hands that remain empty.

Phil BAUHAUS. 6. The 32-year-old German from Bahrain tries to bring home some placings, and thus some points. He's sixth, not bad.

Huub ARTZ. 6. The 24-year-old Dutchman does what he can and what he brings home is not little.

Dorian GODON. 5. The 30-year-old Frenchman from Netcompany Ineos, after a great spring, is struggling. He's missing something. Perhaps even more than something. For now, he's the slower version of the Godon we've admired this year.

Mads PEDERSEN. 6. Just a 9th place finish to scrape together a dozen points (14): in the green jersey classification he now leads with 204 points, with Girmay behind him at 145.

Baptiste VEISTROFFER. 9. The naval engineer from Lotto Intermarchè has the gift of adventure. He dreams of distant finishes and unexplored destinations. Above all, he seeks to find his own limits: this too is a journey toward knowledge. Not satisfied with what he's already done in this Tour, he took off as soon as the race started. He loves solo breakaways, but this time he accepted the company of Czech Jakub Otruba from Caja Rural. A well-coordinated tandem that—paraphrasing the legendary Vasco—gave meaning to the stage even if the stage itself had no meaning.