Marco BRENNER. 10 with honors. The 24-year-old German rider from Tudor doesn't let this golden opportunity slip away. He races with wisdom and lucidity until the very end. He moves with confidence, controls and counters as he should: he wins a stage he went looking for from the start. First Grand Tour victory, second of the season, fourth in his career. The young man adds weight to his victories: this one counts and counts for a lot.

Santiago BUITRAGO. 7. Many see him as the winner, but today the German Marco has something more, even though the Colombian extends his lead in the mountains classification: he's getting closer to the polka dots.

Cristian RODRIGUEZ. 8. A strong breakaway ride for the Spanish rider from XDS Astana. A third-place finish of substance that does good for everyone: for him and for the team. He climbs three positions in the general classification: now he's 8th.

Ivan Ramiro SOSA. 7.5. The 28-year-old Colombian rider races for the small Equipo Kern Pharma team. He enters the day's breakaway and finishes his efforts with a placement that's worth a lot.

Valentin PARET-PEINTRE. 6.5. The 24-year-old French rider from Soudal Quick-Step is always there, even though today, in a stage that could have smiled on him, he's a bit less present.

Filippo ZANA. 6.5. He tries multiple times, but gets caught. In the end, another placement after yet another day spent on the attack.

Walter CALZONI. 6.5. The 25-year-old rider from Brescia with Pinarello Q36.5 brings home a prestigious placement (9th) at his first Grand Tour.

Kevin VERMAERKE. 7. He raises hell in the finale, but in the end it's he who remains in the depths.

Enric MAS. 8. He controls without leaving anything to spectacle. They say he might feel the pressure, but in the end it's he who makes others feel it.

Felix GALL. 7.5. He wants to try again and again he will try. He stays with Mas, but has the satisfaction of overtaking Roglic in the general classification: now the Austrian is second.

Primoz ROGLIC. 5.5. He doesn't lose much, but he does lose: a few seconds (25") and a position in the standings. But knowing him, he won't lose heart.

Richard CARAPAZ. 5. He's tired and it shows.

Oscar ONLEY. 5.5. He holds his position in the general classification, but today he can't keep up with Mas and Gall's wheels. In any case he defends the white jersey.

Jakob OMRZEL. 5.5. The young man is young and today he must pay something for it.

Joao ALMEIDA. 44. A hard and difficult Vuelta for the Portuguese rider from Uae Emirates XRG, hard also for the Emirati team that had to give up its leader, who had the race on his shoulders and in his hands. Joao takes off and enters the breakaway with two teammates: Oliveira and Vermaeke. With them Castrillo and García Pierna (Movistar); Kruijswijk and Nordhagen (Visma-Lease a Bike); Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM), De La Cruz, Azparren, Calzoni and Vader (Pinarello-Q36.5); Svestad-Bardseng (Netcompany Ineos), Bilbao and Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious); Bernard and Konrad (Lidl-Trek); Berthet and Martin (Groupama-FDJ United); Martí (NSN Cycling), Dainese, Paret-Peintre and Zana (Soudal Quick-Step); Ourselin (Cofidis), Bouwman, Hellemose, Pickering and Sütterlin (Jayco AlUla); Albanese, Rafferty and Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost); Brenner, Barta and Warbasse (Tudor); Romele, Rodríguez and Fortunato (XDS Astana), Fernández, Díaz Gallego, Aparicio and Alleno (Burgos-Burpellet-BH); Thompson (Lotto-Intermarchè), Martínez (Picnic-PostNL) and Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma). Forty-four riders on the attack: this is where the race is made, even though there's the one behind them that ultimately counts for more. In any case, in the end Joao gets a comforting 10th place.

ALPECIN. 17. Hugo Houle also retires, the Belgian team remains in the race with only three men at their disposal. What a blow!