The 2018 Tour de France is already a third of the way through and after nine intriguing stages the lay of the land has finally been set. Fernando Gaviria, Dylan Groenewegen and Peter Sagan have shared the spoils on the flatter days taking two stages while the first uphill finish went to an aggressive Dan Martin.
BMC Racing did what you would expect them to do in the team time trial as John Degenkolb got us all crying with joy in Roubaix.
The race for General Classification has been interesting too. Tom Dumoulin was docked some time for drafting a car while Chris Froome lost seconds after crashing on Stage 1.
Geraint Thomas is currently sitting pretty above them all while down the other end Rigoberto Uran is already two minutes adrift.
Although all of them are better placed than Richie Porte who is already at home. Another year, another crash, for the Australian who finds himself abandoning the race on Stage 9 for the second consecutive year.
Below, Cyclist has taken a look at which riders have had a good first nine days and those who will be looking to forget the first week.
The Winners
John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo)
Somebody get me a tissue, it's all too much. Not a dry eye was left in the house after John Degenkolb's magnificent victory on Stage 9 from Arras to Roubaix.
In early 2016 while on a pre-season training ride in Calpe, Spain with his Giant-Alpecin team, Dege, among a host of teammates, was hit by a car driving on the wrong side of the road.
Several injuries, including a severely lacerated left index finger, have blighted the German since with it looking unlikely he would ever return to the form that brought him the Milan-San Remo/Paris-Roubaix double in 2015.
However, yesterday a demon or two was buried as he took a brutal Stage 9 victory that included 21km of cobbles along the way.
Out-sprinting Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors), the German erupted with emotion at how much that victory meant, and so did we at home.
Degenkolb is the true winner of the first week of this year's Tour.
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)
France's chosen one has had a disastrous week. Firstly, his team finished 1 minute 15 seconds off the pace on Stage 3's team time trial distancing him for certain GC rivals.
Then on Stage 6 to the Mur de Bretagne, Bardet broke a wheel at the bottom of the final climb, forcing him to take teammate Tony Gallopin's bike as he chased back on. Eventually, he rolled in 31 seconds adrift.
Then on yesterday's cobbled stage to Roubaix, he experienced approximately 432 mechanicals and punctures changing his bike just as many times.
At points, Bardet looked to be losing minutes but eventually he lost only seven seconds.
After all this bad luck in the first nine days, Bardet is 2 minutes 32 seconds down on Van Avermaet's yellow and 50 seconds adrift of defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky), proving that even when he is losing, Bardet is still winning.
Movistar
Movistar entered this Tour de France with three joints leaders, Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde. All three said that the ultimate leader would be decided on the road, especially after the first nine days of racing in which time could be lost.
Yesterday should have produced a pecking order as this team of Latin mountain goats shaked, rattled and rolled across the Roubaix cobbles but it did not.
Quintana looked like a Classics veteran hanging in the main group of contenders while Valverde even went on an attack.
Landa crashed yesterday, and hard, but managed to fight back in the closing kilometres and with Bardet only lost seven seconds on the stage.
Now all three Movistar generals go into the first mountain stage, their undeniable territory, within 1 minute 20 seconds of each other. Most definitely a big win.
Notable mentions:
Lawson Craddock (EF-Drapac) for riding on despite a fractured scapula, raising almost $100,000 for charity in the process.
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) for making the top 10 on each of the first nine stages.
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) for holding yellow until the mountains.
The Losers
Quick-Step Floors
Two stage victories, a yellow jersey and a green jersey. Quick-Step Floors were pretty dominant at points in that first week but it does not stop them from being losers.
Why? Well besides Fernando Gaviria taking two stage victories, some of their performances have been lacklustre and hard to understand.
For example, Julian Alaphilippe was probably the strongest guy on the Mur de Bretagne but he let Dan Martin (UAE-Team Emirates) get away and was not willing to bring him back.
They should have taken the Stage 3 team time trial but underestimated the course and fell away, eventually losing to BMC Racing.
Then take Stage 9, in which the race tackled the cobbles, their home turf, with the likes of Terpstra, Gilbert, Lampaert and Jungels.
They failed to really take hold of the race and take the stage that you know Patrick Lefevere would have wanted most.
So sure, they have two stage victories and riders currently third and fourth on GC but you cannot help but think they could have much more.
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
Thomas is in such good form. He won the Criterium du Dauphine last month and then just seamlessly walked into this Tour. He has nabbed bonus seconds along the way and been in the front group at all times.
This sees him currently second on GC and the highest placed overall contender. That's what is going to make the next two weeks even harder to take.
You just know that come tomorrow when the race starts to head up the mountains that Team Sky will have to make a judgement call, Thomas or Froome.
We know that they will pick Froome, he is the defending champion, so at some point Thomas will probably sacrifice his own chances for that of his teammate.
You could catch a glimpse of this yesterday. Thomas was strong enough to attack but he did not and it's probably because of Froome.
Richie Porte (BMC Racing)
Some things are just not meant to be. Richie Porte is not meant to win a Tour de France. It's written in the stars for all to see.
In 2017, Stage 9 saw Porte crash spectacularly on the descent of the Mont du Chat. He was stretchered away with a broken collarbone and fractured pelvis ending his Tour dreams.
Fast forward to Stage 9 of the 2018 race and Porte has suffered a similar fate.
A small crash in the opening kilometres saw the Australian sustain a fractured clavicle meaning yet another DNF, his third DNF in his last five Grand Tours.
Porte will e picking himself back up to go again in 2019. He will win on Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under in January and then have a strong build up to the Tour, probably even winning a one-week race along the way
Notable mentions:
EF-Drapac for not making a judgement call and pulling an injured Lawson Craddock out of the race.
Fernando Gaviria for headbutting Andre Greipal on Stage 8, a gentleman of the peloton.
Boring sprint stages of over 220km which have very little action.