[8] La Gazzetta dello Sport felt four riders – Francesco Moser (Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu), Laurent Fignon (Renault–Elf), Giuseppe Saronni (Del Tongo–Colnago), and Roberto Visentini (Carrera–Inoxpran) – had the best chances to win, but "there is no man who knows how to dominate.

"[8] When asked about his biggest challenge, Moser stated: "First, Visentini, because last year he was second, he has a very homogeneous squad and is the Italian runner in better shape..."[8] Ángel Ruocco of El País felt that the race would be between 1983 Tour de France champion Fignon and Saronni, the winner of the Giro the previous year.

[8] Marino Lejarreta (Alfa Lum–Olmo) who rode the 1984 Vuelta a España to prepare, as well as Alberto Fernández (Zor–Gemeaz Cusin) who displayed great results when the race reached the Apennines last year.

[8][10] The route for the 1984 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 18 February 1984.

[11][12][13][14] Covering a total of 3,808 km (2,366 mi), it included four time trials (three individual and one for teams), and eleven stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points.

[7] Renault manager Cyrille Guimard especially upset with Moser's lack of punishment because his rider, Fignon, was awarded a twenty-second penalty for receiving food outside of the feed zone.

[26] Another instance appeared when the race officials cancelled the crossing of the Stelvio Pass during the eighteenth stage.

[7][9] Snow had fallen on the Stelvio and was thought to be able to be cleared by the day of the stage as race director Vincenzo Torriani had photos showing that it could be done.

[7] The French magazine Vélo published photos of the pass being clear of snow and open to the public.

[7] There's speculation that a government official from Trent – Moser's hometown – would not allow the Giro to cross the Stelvio.

[7][26] The changes in the stage resulted in another collective finish of the general classification contenders, thus keeping the time gaps the same and playing into the hand of Moser.

[31] He wrote that the "breaches in the rules were obvious" and that Moser had received many pushes from spectators while climbing during the twentieth stage.

[32] Fignon elaborated on the final time trial, stating that the helicopter pilot "almost mowing the number off of my back with his rotorblades.