A week after his victory in the world championship time trial, Filippo Ganna is just 15.1km away from carving another chapter in Italian cycling history at the Giro d'Italia, which starts Saturday afternoon. He is favored to wear the rainbow band for the first time on the start ramp in Monreale and the first pink jersey on the podium in Piazza Castelnuovo in Palermo.

It has been 37 years since an Italian rider last changed from the rainbow jersey to the pink jersey at the Giro. Ganna was earlier because of a change in the calendar due to a coronavirus pandemic. Or, as he told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "If you had told me I would be starting the Giro in the world champion's jersey, I would have told you to drink more booze."

The Giro's short, fast opening time trial is an early meeting point for those looking to win the overall in Milan is an early rendezvous for Ganna, but the battle for the pink jersey at the beginning of the race appears to be just Ganna and his time trial specialists, including his teammates Rohan Dennis, Geraint Thomas and Victor Kampenaerts (NTT).

Due to constant traffic congestion in downtown Palermo, Ganna was unable to test the course on his bike until the roads were closed on Saturday morning, but he did a reconnaissance from the passenger seat of Ineos' team car. The stage is fast and mainly downhill, but the first 1,100 meters of the stage climbs up Monte Caputo to the Norman-style Monreale Cathedral, famous for its gilded mosaics.

The gold medalists do not seem too concerned about the double-digit gradient in the opening kilometer, but they warn that the subsequent descents, including two sharp hairpins at the end of the fastest section, will be crucial.

"I couldn't test the route on the bike due to traffic, so I checked the route in the car, and I have to say that the 18% climb is nice and hard, but you need good brakes on the downhill rather than the uphill.

Campenaerts readily admitted that he only had a "10%" chance of winning the pink jersey over Ganna, but was bullish that he could gain a few seconds on the Italian on both the climbs and descents early Saturday.

"I'm on disc brakes and I weigh 68 kg, while Ganna is on rim brakes and 90 kg," Campenaerts told Het Laatste Nieuws. 'On the downhill, I'm in a Fiat Panda and he's in a big truck, fully loaded, with bad brakes. I start braking much slower. That should gain us a few seconds."

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But on the flat, fast last 6 km or so, Ganna seemed to have the advantage. Ganna showed his prodigious power on similar terrain when he broke Fabian Cancellara's course record on Tirreno-Adriatico, San Benedetto del Tronto, and, of course, when he eliminated Wout Van Art for the world title in Imola.

Between the World Championships and the Giro, Ganna returned to his native Piedmont and climbed the sacred Oropa to prepare himself. Maybe out of superstition and maybe out of the power of God," Ganna told "La Gazzetta."

Meanwhile, Saturday's start time was at least partially dictated by the weather forecast. While the feared thunderstorms have so far not been forecast, the winds are expected to increase for the latecomers. As a result, Salvatore Puccio was the last Ineos athlete to start, with Ganna (14:58) and Thomas (14:36) in the middle of the pack. Incidentally, Ganna's time trial loss in 2020 was to Remco Evenepoel at the Vuelta a San Juan in January.

"The good news is that the weather is fine, so there will be less risk," Ganna said.