Thierry Marie won the event's opening leg and in doing so, became the first rider to wear the race leader's maglia rosa (pink jersey) in this edition.

[5] The average age of riders was 27.48 years,[6] ranging from 22–year–old Andrea Ferrigato (Ariostea) to 36–year–old Sean Kelly (Lotus–Festina).

[3] The teams that took part in the race were:[9] The starting peloton did include the previous year's winner Franco Chioccioli.

[1][3] According to author Bill McGann, Miguel Induráin came into the race with the aims of riding it for preparation for the Tour de France in July.

[3] Claudio Chiappucci came into the race as a contender after finishing on the podium at the previous season's Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

[1] However, the newspaper did state that his chances were lower since his teammate Jean-François Bernard was not participating in the race due to an injury.

[2][11] Spanish newspaper Diari de Girona named Indurain, Chiappucci, Laurent Fignon, and Massimiliano Lelli the main contenders to win the race.

El País felt that the route was best suited for an all-round cyclist, while stating that final 66 km (41 mi) individual time trial would be decisive in determining the winner of the race.

[18] The Giro began with a short 8 km (5.0 mi) individual time trial that navigated through the streets of Genoa, which was won by Thierry Marie by a margin of three seconds.

[19] The next day of racing culminated with a bunch sprint that was won by Jolly Componibili-Club 88's Endrio Leoni after the leading two-man breakaway just kilometers before the finish.

[22] Motorola's Maximilian Sciandri edged out Massimiliano Lelli for the stage win as the race lead shifted from Marie to Miguel Induráin.

[22] Indurain increased his advantage over the rest of the competing riders by winning the stage 4 individual time trial by thirty-two seconds.

[25] The contenders all crossed the finish line together seconds after stage winner Franco Vona, with Frenchman Laurent Fignon being the only one to lose time.

[3][30] Behind, Indurain led a chase group that contained Andrew Hampsten, Chiappucci, Giovannetti, and Luis Herrera, while general classification hopefuls Chioccioli and Fignon dropped off the back since they could not keep pace.

[31] Chioccioli, Roberto Pagnin, and Marco Lietti formed a breakaway group and gained an advantage of three and a half minutes over the main field which was led by Indurain's team, Banesto.

[3][34] The next day was the most mountainous of the race, according to El País writer Paolo Viberti, as it contained the Passo Pordoi and twice climbed Monte Bondone, with the second being the end of the stage.

[35] Indurain marked each move that was made by his rivals, except for a last ditch effort by Chioccioli that allowed him to finish five seconds ahead of the rest of the general classification hopefuls.

[36] Marco Saligari won the sixteenth stage after participating in a breakaway that lasted around 146 km (90.7 mi).

[38] As the climb wore on, the group thinned and Gatorade–Chateau d'Ax's Giovannetti attacked on a false flat with about 500 m (1,640.4 ft) remaining in the stage to win the day.

[38] Giancarlo Perini and Udo Bölts caught the nineteenth stage's leading rider on the road, Ramon González.

[3][39] The penultimate stage resulted in a field sprint that was won by Cipollini for his fourth victory of this edition.