Bugno wore the pink jersey as leader in the general classification from the first to the last stage (before him, only Girardengo in 1919, Binda in 1927 and Merckx in 1973 achieved the same).

Twenty-two teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1990 edition of the Giro d'Italia, ten of which were based outside of Italy.

[8] The teams entering the race were:[4][9] Reigning champion Laurent Fignon (Castorama) returned to defend his title and was seen as a favorite to win despite a sub–par Classics season.

[2] Milan–San Remo winner Gianni Bugno (Chateau d'Ax–Salotti) entered the race and writers considered him a contender,[11][12] others wrote him off as Classics rider.

[12] RMO's Charly Mottet due to his recent victory in the Tour de Romandie also received consideration as a favorite.

[10][2][13] For the 1990 season, Mottet altered his normal schedule to include the Giro d'Italia and not ride the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

[2] Other riders that received attention as contenders were Steven Rooks, Urs Zimmermann, and Gert-Jan Theunisse.

[12] Former winner Stephen Roche and Pedro Delgado chose not to participate in the Giro in favor of racing the Tour de France.

[13] The route for the 1990 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 16 December 1989 in Milan.

[15][16][17] In order to avoid overlap with the World Cup held in Italy, the race was moved forward a week and two stages were removed.

The event traveled into the neighboring Austria when the race reached the Dolomites, specifically into Klagenfurt.

[2] The route was found to be balanced with five summit finishes and three time trials, while the difficult parts had adequate rest in between.