[7][8] The race was originally planned to start on 22 May and finish on 13 June, while covering 3,715 km (2,308 mi) over nineteen stages.

[10] When the leader Magni was punished with only two minutes after being pushed up a mountain, Fausto Coppi and his Bianchi team also left the race out of protest.

[9] Coppi won the stage, but Magni–who had a reputation for struggling on big climbs–finished in time to retain the lead.

[9] It was discovered that Magni had been helped up the Pordoi, while some state he was pushed by spectators others say he was pulled by a car.

[9] The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey.

The Italian cycling federation gave Coppi a suspension of one month because he refused to finish the Giro.

[17] After winning the final stage into Milan's Vignorelli Velodrome, the crowd's behavior (whistles, boos, and anti–Magni banners) reduced him to tears.