Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates Team) is the leader of the Tour de France after the first week of competition. This Monday, 8 July, the Tour de France is taking a rest day, as almost everyone predicted, with Pogacar controlling the race at his leisure and being the protagonist every day. The Slovenian wears the yellow jersey 33 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal), who is proving to be the expected rival, and 1:15 ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma), who has dispelled doubts about his form after the serious crash he suffered in April. These three are currently the main contenders for victory after nine stages, from which several conclusions can be drawn.

The first is that Pogacar does not seem to be suffering from the strain of the Giro d'Italia, which he won with an iron fist, finishing almost 10 minutes ahead of Daniel Felipe Martínez (Bora). Pogacar attacked at the top of the Galibier. No one followed him except Vingegaard, who struggled more on the descent than on the climb. The stage was too demanding for the fourth day of the race. It showed that Vingegaard is in good shape and capable of challenging the Slovenian for the final victory.

However, Pogacar was bold and daring and gained an advantage on the descent of the Alpine giant. It also confirmed that the UAE have the best team in the Tour, with Almeida and Ayuso as Pogacar's loyal lieutenants. On the same day, Evenepoel also suffered. However, he held on at an altitude of over 2,600 metres. The Belgian is in top form. Another conclusion is that Primoz Roglic (Bora), another favourite, is in good shape. He just lacked a little to stay in the top three. The Slovenian, who finished second in the Tour and still has a score to settle in France, will always be among the best, but it remains to be seen if he can win.

As well as the fourth stage, where the Galibier naturally made the headlines, the rest of the Tour de France brought other news. On day one, Romain Bardet, a French cyclist who finished second and third in the Tour de France and is retiring this year, wore the yellow jersey. This Tour will also be remembered for Mark Cavendish's (Astana) fifth victory, breaking Eddy Merckx's record for stage wins in the Grand Boucle. The Briton is now a legendary rider, if he wasn't before this stage win.

Another outstanding rider was Biniam Girmay (IWA) with two stage wins. The first made him the first black rider from Africa to win a stage of the Tour. The second confirmed him as the best sprinter of this edition. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea) gave his team, Arkea, their first Tour victory after many years without a stage win. In another sprint finish, Dilan Groenewegen (Jayco) was the fastest ahead of Girmay.

The seventh stage was expected to be decisive, with a 25-kilometre time trial where a rider could lose the Tour. There were no surprises. Evenepoel beat Pogacar in a discipline where the Belgian is the world champion. Evenepoel knew that he had to minimise the damage the Slovenian could do to him in the mountains if he wanted to win the general classification. He finished 12 seconds ahead of Pogacar, not much, but enough to show that the Belgian is the best time trialist. Roglic and Vingegaard held their own, 34 and 37 seconds back respectively.

The ninth and final stage before the rest day was going to be a spectacle: 199 kilometres in Troyes, 32 of them on gravel. The winner was Anthony Turgis (Ten). Despite his impressive U23 palmarès, he was not the favourite. However, the main contenders for the general classification attacked each other, giving the fans a thrilling stage. Evenepoel himself described it as "one of the sporting events of the year."

The course promised excitement, with gravel and dirt racing in vogue. In 2007, this terrain was reintroduced in one of the trendiest classics, the Strade Bianche. There hasn't been a Giro without it since.Tadej Pogacar had won the Strade Bianche twice in Siena, so it was nothing new for him. The Slovenian attacked with 22 kilometres to go and Vingegaard responded with good support from teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Pogacar attacked again with 8km to go, but was unable to break away.

There was nervousness because the Tour could be lost. For example, Vingegaard had a puncture 100 kilometres from the finish and was forced to change bikes and take his teammate Jan Tratnik's. He didn't have time to get his own bike and finished on Tratnik's. Evenepoel attacked 78 kilometres from Troyes and suffered a mechanical problem. His rivals responded, but the Belgian had to fight hard to regain his position after the breakdown.

All this has happened in just over a week of the Tour. Riders such as Enric Mas (Movistar) and Egan Bernal (Ineos) are also in contention for a top-10 finish, but barring a surprise, nothing more. Mikel Landa (Soudal), eighth overall, will be an exceptional domestique for Evenepoel. Two young Spaniards, Juan Ayuso (UAE) and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos), are fifth and seventh respectively in the overall standings. They are the best behind the top three riders, Pogacar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard, and fourth, a step below, Roglic. The Spaniards, aged 21 and 23 respectively, confirm that they are the future.