[9] The starting peloton consisted of 70 Italians, 16 Belgians, 15 Frenchmen, 11 Spanish, 7 Swiss, four Germans, three Dutch, two Danes, one English, and one Luxembourgian rider.

[11] The teams entering the race were:[6][7] The starting peloton did include the previous year's winner Felice Gimondi.

[8] Eight-time Grand Tour winner Jacques Anquetil did not participate in the race because of a dispute over pay.

[5][14][15] The starting date of the event was moved from 18 or 19 May to the 20th because of the general election taking place within Italy that ended on 19 May.

[8] l'Unita writer Gino Sala's felt the route was geared towards climbers, referencing the inclusion of Tre Cime di Lavaredo which had been the previous year and eliminated several riders.

"[5] To begin race festivities there was a parade through the streets of Campione d'Italia before the prologue started during the night.

[19] Police lined the sides of the roads of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo as the riders passed through due to incidents that had occurred on the slopes the previous year.

[27] Years later, author John Foot wrote "Doubts remain about how much the influence of Gimondi's fame and his ability to employ expensive lawyers and experts had on his case," casting further doubt on the legitimacy of Gimondi's claims of innocence.

[27] The Tour de France organizers adopted the Giro's doping control scheme for their 1968 race.

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

There were a total of nineteen categorized climbs, of which the highest one, the Cima Coppi, was the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.