During the post-Community Ride refreshments last night at Cicli Drali in Milan, Alessandro Petacchi posed for us with Tadej Pogacar's DMT shoe and expressed himself on the Slovenian phenomenon's supremacy: "First of all, it's a source of pride for the company I represent to know that Tadej will use our shoes as long as he races and to 'care for' the strongest rider in the world. From my point of view, it's beautiful to see his class and his constant pursuit of victory. From the outside it almost seems like he doesn't struggle, but there's a grueling sacrifice behind his results. I don't see why he should give up winning when he can do it. In cycling history there was a Cannibal named Eddy Merckx who won over 500 races and people still talk about him".

During the same evening we posed a similar question to Evgenij Berzin: "True, what's entertaining is the fight for 2nd and 3rd place because unfortunately for 1st place there's no battle against UAE and its leader. However, supremacies have always existed. In my time it wasn't much different: when Indurain always won, he also was considered as a pain in the neck!"

If there's a more compelling battle in this Tour, it's the one for the green jersey. And here we return to Petacchi, one of only three Italians to win it (in 2010) who gave us his reading of the main contenders: "Mads Pedersen has been targeting it since day one and is maintaining it through those intermediate sprints or stages where Tim Merlier might struggle more. On the other hand, the Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step is confirming himself as the strongest sprinter in the world. He's pulling off incredible finishes that combine speed and lucidity. It will be a beautiful battle because there are a couple of finishes where Merlier has many points available, but the courses could favor Pedersen. Apart from their duel, however, the favorite in Paris will be Van Der Poel".

Before saying goodbye, the question of questions for a pure sprinter like him: how do Merlier's finishes compare to Petacchi's? "A difficult comparison, but I must say that Tim has a style similar to the one I had. He doesn't burn you in the last 50 meters, he's capable of winning from eighth or ninth position like I did, for example, at Nevers in the 2003 Tour".