Note: WNBA.com’s Race to the MVP, released every Wednesday during the season, is the opinion of this writer and does not reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

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The Race to the MVP has been just that during the opening months of the 2016 season — a race. Stars like Nneka Ogwumike, Tina Charles and Maya Moore have held their foot on the gas since the opening tip.

Now it’s time for a pit stop.

The Olympic Break won’t represent a break for eight of the players on this list, who are headed to Rio to chase a sixth straight Olympic gold medal for the United States. Sparks stars Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker, meanwhile, will have a chance to refuel for a post-break championship push.

Heading into the final two days of WNBA action until late August, here’s this writer’s MVP ballot:

1. Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Last Week: 1
Stats: 19.4 points, 70.6% FG, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 blocks, 1.1 steals

Like fellow Olympic snub Candace Parker, Ogwumike has been a woman on a mission all season. The Sparks’ dream run finally came to a halt with two straight losses before the break. But sporting a record field goal percentage (71%) and ranking third in both scoring and rebounding at the break is the best consolation Nneka could have asked for.

2. Tina Charles, New York Liberty
Last Week: 2
Stats: 21.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals

Charles could only lead the league in scoring and rebounding and carry the Liberty for so long. She’s slowed down her prodigious pace in her last four games, but most importantly, New York hasn’t. Thanks the Charles’ leadership, the Liberty sit firmly in third place.

3. Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
Last Week: 3
Stats: 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.6 steals

Does Moore ever take a break from winning? She has, as usual, been a joy to watch with the Lynx this season. But it will be equally fascinating to watch her chase a second gold medal as the leader of the newer generation of U.S. National Team talent.

4. Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
Last Week: 4
Stats: 16.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 blocks

Parker grabbed the headlines when she was left off the Olympic roster, but she took the high road and responded with a brilliant run through the WNBA. While the multi-dimensional forward would no doubt love the opportunity to play in Rio, the opportunity to rest may make the decision a blessing in disguise.

5. Elena Delle Donne, Chicago Sky
Last Week: 7
Stats: 21.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 43% 3FG

EDD and the Sky remained quiet during the season’s early weeks, but the reigning MVP has been all-world since. She’s taken over the league lead in scoring with an off-the-charts July: 23.8 PPG, 51/45/91%, 8.5 RPG, 1.5 BPG.

6. Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
Last Week: 6
Stats: 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 blocks, 1.2 steals

Forget Rookie of the Year, Stewart has been one of the league’s best players during her first season. Perhaps only Candace Parker has shown the ability to impact games in any way possible that Stewart has shown; she’s averaging nearly five assists per game this month, for example, ranking in the Top-10 over that span.

7. Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream
Last Week: 5
Stats: 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals

The normally ultra-consistent Atlanta centerpiece finally hit a rough patch over her past four games. The inconsistent Dream lost three of those games, with the lone win strangely coming against the league-leading Sparks.

8. Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
Last Week: Unranked
Stats: 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals

Catchings may be past her prime but her farewell tour has become about more than sentimentality. Take Tuesday night, for instance, when she turned back the clock on ESPN 2 with 23 points and four steals in an upset of the Sparks. Catchings is playing even better than she did last season and shooting her highest percentage (46%) in six years.

9. Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
Last Week: 10
Stats: 12.9 points, 58% FG, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals

Fowles picks her spots to return to her dominant ways and she picked Sunday against the Wings and Wednesday against the Dream this week. First came a season-high 19 rebounds to go with 14 points (4/5 FG) and four blocks in Dallas. Then she hit the Dream with 14 points (6/8 FG) and five more blocks the next game.

10. Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
Last Week: 8
Stats: 18.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.9 3PM/G

As returns go, clinging to the No. 7 seed and shooting a career-low 39% is surely not the comeback Taurasi envisioned. But it does say something that the Mercury’s worst-case scenario still makes them playoff caliber, and returning stateside into the thick of a playoff race should add even more fuel to Diana’s fire.