Julien Alaphilippe went to assess the lay of the land on Thursday afternoon. The first stage of the Giro d'Italia passes through Colline del Po, a hilly area southeast of downtown Turin.

The Frenchman would have had relatively little knowledge of Superga and Colle Maddalena that he could not glean from the Giro's lovingly detailed road book, Garibaldi. More helpful, however, was the unclassified ascent to San Vito.

Saturday's stage was originally scheduled to hug the south bank of the Po River in the finale. However, in the dead of winter, RCS Sport reconsidered whether it would be a sparkling enough way to open the race. Less than 5 km from the finish, the route turned away from the river and right into the hills toward St. Vitus.

The road climbs at just under 10% for 1.4 km. About 400 meters from the summit, the gradient temporarily rises to 16%. The summit is a breathtaking 3 km descent from the finish line at Corso Moncalieri in Turin. That means the first man to reach San Vito will have the chance to wear the first maglia rosa of this Giro. For Alaphilippe, who has a summit finish in Oropa on Sunday afternoon, it may be his only chance to wear pink in his Giro debut.

"The first stage suits me," Alaphilippe told reporters Friday afternoon in Turin. 'It's a hard, short stage, and I'm nervous. I really like these days. I'm very motivated. I think Sunday will be too hard for me, but Saturday is a good day to try."

During Alaphilippe's imperial period from 2019 to 2021, he would have been a fast-rising favorite, a clear punch on climbs like Vivio di San Vito. On the opening weekend of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France, for example, he made the most of such terrain. Everyone knew what was coming, but they couldn't prevent it.

He has done it on Italian roads in the past. For example, at the 2020 Imola World Championships, Alaphilippe knew that if he won the race to the top of the Cima Galisterna, he would likely win the rainbow jersey.

At the time, Alaphilippe, along with Tadei Pogacar, belonged to a select group of riders who operated on a different level than the rest of the peloton. However, over the past two and a half years, Alaphilippe has slipped out of that elite group, while Pogacar, Mathieu van der Pol, and others have disappeared over the horizon.

Leading up to this Giro, there was much talk that Pogacar would win in Turin and lead this race from start to finish. The possibility that Alaphilippe will have a finale worthy of his talent has been rather under-discussed. But that is not to be taken lightly. Alaphilippe's 2024 season has been hampered by a broken knee suffered at Strade Bianche, which has hampered his Classics campaign.

Alaphilippe missed this year's Ardennes Classics to make his Giro debut. He returned last week at the Tour de Romandie, finishing third in the opening time trial.

"I feel good," Alaphilippe said. Romandie was an important week for me. I raced hard and was able to put a lot of pressure on my legs. Romandie was an important week for me. The last week was a recovery to stay fresh for the next three weeks. It's hard to say what my condition is like, but I feel good and ready to suffer. I think this is important."

Alaphilippe has developed the habits of a man who is strong on the big stage at the turn of this decade. For example, in the second half of the 2020 Tour, he looked listless, but in hindsight, he may have simply been out of sorts in the run-up to the Imola World Championships. Twelve months later, he won gold in Leuven with the same kind of alchemy.

"Before the Giro it was really simple," Alaphilippe said of his preparation for Corsa Rosa. 'We didn't do any training camps at altitude. After the Tour of Flanders, I rested and did some basic training. Romandie was good for me. I couldn't do anything special, but I got better day by day.

However, it remains to be seen if Alaphilippe's calm build-up will lead to the thunderous performances that he routinely displayed in finals like this one. Rather than results, Alaphilippe has been the talk of the town this season, with Sourdal-Quickstep coach Patrick Lefebvre's reprimands.

However, he is only 31 years old and will be the focus of attention from many French teams when his contract with Soudal-QuickStep expires at the end of the season. A first Giro Maria Rosa would be an effective trump card in the ongoing negotiations. The stakes are high.

"There is a chance, but I don't know how good that chance is," Alaphilippe said. 'In a parcours like tomorrow you have a better chance than on Sunday. It's a question of the legs. Tomorrow won't be a big surprise. We need to be strong and explosive. I want to enjoy the stage, do my best and have no regrets."