Is the Giro going to be a cakewalk for Tadej Pogaar, a three week passeggiata? Well have to wait for Rome but today might tell us plenty about how he and his team want to race and what the others have in store too.The Route: a tough stage for 140km. 1850m of vertical gain is hilly but Vuelta sprint stages can have more, the trouble for the sprinters today is the climbing is concentrated late on.The Superga climb is famous in Italy for its hilltop chapel where the Italian royal family was buried, and for the air disaster in 1949 which saw the entire FC Torino football team perish when their plane crashed into the hillside, a theme you may have heard before and will probably hear more about today.The Superga is famous in cycling as its been used by the Giro and Milano-Torino alike. Climbed today from the other side, its still 4.7km at over 9% and so hard going for non-climbers. The race drops down into Torino on the main road, the bad news is its got some blind bends; the good news is the same descent is used later off the Maddalena so itll be more familiar when it counts more.The Intergiro sprint for 3-2-1 bonus seconds comes before the unmarked San Vito climb which climbs up the hillside amid some of Torinos most swanky homes the Agnelli villa is just off the route on a steep and narrow road.The Colle Maddalena featured in 2022 on the hectic stage mid-race won by Simon Yates but this is the main road up out of the city this time and more steady, its served by a bus route. If its 7km at 7% its got some descents you dont see on the profile so in turn the slopes up are steeper. They take the main road back down too, safer but its full of blind bends all the same.The Finish: into Torino and along the river but the San Vito climb again by now riders will know the 16% is only if you take the wrong line in a hairpin before dropping back to the city for a flat finish.The Contenders: did you know Tadej Pogaar (UAE) can get over the climbs and he sprints well from a small group? Well have to see how much he and his team can control things, everyone will be looking to them and one opportunistic attack could work; or if theres a stand-off on the Maddalena some dropped finisseurs can get back on during the descent.Suitable rivals include Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep) who can still win sprints but look to see if hes still got the descending skills. Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek) is handy but the form is questionable. Aurlien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) can win sprints from a small group, Dani Martinez (Bora-hansgrohe) isnt just a mountain diesel as hes won sprints too. Christophe Laporte (Visma-LAB), Biniam Girmay (Intermarch) bring doubts about form if they can get over the climb.PogaarAlaphilippe, VansevenantBagioli, APP, Martinez, Lutsenko, Vendrame, VallterWeather: sunny and 20C.TV: the start is at 1.55pm and the finish is forecast for 5.15pm CEST. Tune in at 3.30pm if you want to see the Superga, 4.30pm for the Maddelena.Postcard from TorinoTorino, Turin in English, is Italys fourth city by population. It was briefly Italys first capital city. Its been seat of the defunct royal family, the city of car maker FIAT and the birthplace of grissini breadsticks and plenty more.It has two top-tier football clubs in Juventus and FC Torino. Juventus is famous worldwide and you might hear more about FC Torino today given today is the 75th anniversary of the air disaster where almost the entire team died when their plane crashed into the Superga hill where the race passes today.FC Torino is alive and kicking, currently 10th in Serie A and the club is owned by Urbano Cairo. He also owns RCS, organisers of the Giro. Cairo began work as a protg of Silvio Berlusconi and ended up with a criminal conviction but got a pardon thanks to a plea bargain. Undeterred, and likening himself to the Count of Monte Cristo, he launched himself into media and advertising. He bought FC Torino in 2005 and then set about buying public TV Channel La7. In 2016 he took control of print and publishing company RCS, a deal with landed him a media empire among which was the right to organise the Giro. Today sees him with two hats, taking his Giro to commemorate the loss of his football club.As well as La Gazzetta Dello Sport Italys most widely read newspaper with news and editorial on the back pages RCS publishes national newspaper Corriere della Serra. Owning newspapers and TV channels gives Cairo sway. Hes tayed out of politics so far, often saying hes interested his politics are on Italys centre-right but he knows the risks. But hes increasingly visible and audible. This could be where the Giro dItalia comes in.For Cairo and Italy alike the Giro is rare event of national unity in a land of campanilismo. Its given Cairo a vehicle, literally, to tour the country where he can appear on TV, be in newspapers and meet politicians. Indeed Cairo and the Giro go so well together that he attended last months G7 gathering in Capri to give a speech to foreign ministers about the ambassadorial role of sports, and gifted them with a maglia rosa each. The Giro is quite the asset for Cairo.Now lets not exaggerate, the race isnt a platform to run to office, roadside fans are not exactly waving pro-Cairo banners. All the same as someone from the Torino area who lives in Milan its given Cairo added range and once you consider he might be building up for a political launch some Giro press releases subtext: forza Italia! take on an extra meaning differently. He comes across more as a chatty dealmaker rather than the TV or social media character that thrives in politics today. Anyway, for cycling fans if he did go into politics then what would the Giro look like?The post Giro dItalia Stage 1 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.