And so, with a rather limited margin of doubt, Pogacar has launched the triple crown operation and is looking towards Spain. "He dominates the Tour and the yes to Spain is now closer" reads the headline of Ciro Scognamiglio's article in Gazzetta, which is also full of details about the Slovenian's near-crash at 55 km/h. He has a plan to present himself at the start—and then win—in Iberian territory.

Pogi in "star" version on the pages of Corriere and Marco Bonarrigo opens with: "The man who slows down during the race to give water bottles to children, the Roberto Bolle of two wheels who sends fans into raptures dancing on his bike along mountain roads, is beginning to irritate cycling journalists. The numbers don't matter, but the way he wins: every time it's extraordinary".

In Nevers, Repubblica's correspondent Cosimo Cito seeks out Alberto Contador, an authoritative voice not only as a commentator, right? Categorical "El Pistolero": "The numbers don't matter but the way he wins: every time it's extraordinary". Words that imply a clear judgment; "Pogacar the strongest in history is already beyond Merckx". At L'Équipe, which uses the expression "dislocated sprint" to capture Søren Waerenskjold's counterattack, there's also space for a note on Julian Alaphilippe, "dropped by the breakaway riders and tested by the passage of time". Alexandre Roos describes the apparent calm of the early stages of a record-breaking stage. Speed without limits.

GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT
POGACAR, VUELTA MISSION
The 113th Tour de France isn't his yet, but he's pedaling in the right direction: having passed the halfway point of the race, Tadej Pogacar has a comfortable lead—3'36" over Jonas Vingegaard, more over everyone else—and if he arrives in yellow in Paris he would equal the legends Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain with five Tours won. But it's well known that the world champion is quite interested in the 'variety' of victories, that is, winning at least once all the major races on the calendar. Like the Vuelta, which he has participated in only once so far, in 2019 as a neo-professional, amazing the world: third overall, with 3 stage wins. Will he return this year? There isn't (yet) a definitive answer, which will come at the end of the Tour or shortly after. But the chances that it will happen, at the moment, are very high. (Ciro Scognamiglio)

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
POGACAR MASTER AND LORD ANNOYS, BUT THE WHISTLES DON'T BRING HIM BACK TO EARTH
The man who slows down during the race to give water bottles to children, the Roberto Bolle of two wheels who sends fans into raptures dancing on his bike along mountain roads, is beginning to irritate cycling journalists. There's no precise moment when the whistles and boos against Tadej Pogacar began, but certainly in this Tour, perhaps already after the Barcelona stage: that of the irreverent paso doble on the white line with Isaac Del Toro, which annoyed the beaten riders and their supporters. Whistles and insults were heard loud and clear on Tuesday at Le Lioran, almost a response to the flashes of anger on the Martian's face as he swallowed the fugitive Carapaz in a heartbeat, without deigning him a glance. (Marco Bonarrigo)

REPUBBLICA
CONTADOR: "POGACAR THE STRONGEST IN HISTORY
HE'S ALREADY BEYOND MERCKX"
Racing continues at a frantic pace even on transfer stages like yesterday. And in a heat that yesterday returned to stick to the riders' backs. Alberto Contador, one of the faces of Eurosport (which broadcasts the Tour in full on HBO Max and Discovery+ channels) has won the Grande Boucle twice (plus a victory revoked for clenbuterol in 2010) and today has the look of a passionate observer on the most important race in the world. How hard is it to race in these temperatures, Contador? "Today there are specific training methods and protocols that help athletes. Pogacar and Vingegaard have worked a lot on this: in the fight for the yellow jersey this aspect is certainly not having an impact. But on the mood of the riders, certainly yes". (Cosimo Cito)

L'ÉQUIPE
WITHOUT SPEED LIMITS
Yesterday morning the air was charged with electricity, as if a storm was about to break; the smell of the imminent tempest rose from the scorched ground, just washed by large drops of rain that fell like a blessing. After the departure from Vichy, the roads were slippery and the curves treacherous; in some places, a lateral wind blew across the golden grain fields—furrowed by lines of electrical pylons—making the golden lilies dance on the flags of the Bourbonnais. Memories of Saint-Amand-Montrond in 2013 (in the nearby Cher department) came to mind and one dreamed of another legendary flat stage, disrupted by crosswinds and unexpected twists. It seemed that our boldest hypotheses were about to come true when Mathieu van der Poel attacked right at the start—as if that threatening sky had put the "beast" on alert, with Alpecin maneuvering exactly as on the battlefields of the Tour of Flanders—but the situation soon stabilized according to the classic canons of the race: a breakaway (Alaphilippe, Oliveira, Charmig, Le Berre) with the peloton in pursuit. (Alexandre Roos)