All of the favourites for overall victory at the Giro d’Italia are tightly packed towards the top of the general classification after the opening week.
Here, we grade their performance so far out of 10…
Vincenzo Nibali - 7/10
Position in general classification: 5th. Gap to the pink jersey: 53sec.
Nibali's opening week went pretty much to plan, apart from one slight blip. He performed solidly in the time trials and played a big role in the move that led to the dropping of then leader Tom Dumoulin on stage eight.
However, he made a mess of stage six's summit finish, foolishly attacking into a headwind and losing time to his rivals after being caught and dropped.
Still, he is the best placed of all the big favourites and will have no complaints.
Mikel Landa - 8/10
Position in general classification: 8th. Gap to the pink jersey: 1min 18sec.
Landa's race started with a poor performance in stage one's time trial, and there was more cause for concern when he lost time on stage six's summit.
However, he bounced back with a brilliant performance on stage nine's time trial, which leaves him in a far better position than he would have hoped at this stage of the race.
Alejandro Valverde - 7/10
Position in general classification: 6th. Gap to the pink jersey: 55sec.
Valverde's opening week has been much like Nibali's - not perfect but not bad either - and that is reflected by the fact the pair are separated by just two seconds.
The Spaniard's time-trialling has been slightly off the pace of his rivals, but he was one of the most impressive climbers, particularly on stage eight, when he launched the attack that led to Dumoulin being dropped.
Tom Dumoulin - 5/10
Position in general classification: 7th. Gap to the pink jersey: 58sec.
Dumoulin's race started brilliantly, with a victory in stage one's time trial being followed by a formidable performance on stage six's summit finish.
But that was as good as it got for Dumoulin, who suffered a major collapse on stage eight and then, by his own admission, was far too tentative on stage nine's time trial.
Strictly speaking he is still in contention, but he needed to be much further up the general classification and his chances of overall victory now look slim at best.
Ilnur Zakarin - 5/10
Position in general classification: 11th. Gap to the pink jersey: 2min 9sec.
Zakarin's Giro was going well up until a catastrophic time trial on stage nine.
Although he disappointed in stage one's time trial, he was the first favourite over the line on stage six's summit finish and had no problems joining Valverde's escape group on stage eight.
But then he crashed twice on stage nine and lost 1min 38sec to Nibali, leaving his hopes of a place on the podium in serious peril.
Steven Kruijswijk - 8/10
Position in general classification: 4th. Gap to the pink jersey: 51sec.
Kruijswijk has been the definition of consistency in the opening week, having performed well in both time trials and also been one of the sharpest climbers on stages six and eight.
Maintaining this level for three weeks may turn out to be a big challenge, but he has given himself a great start.