Eventual winner Tonkov obtained the race leader's maglia rosa (English: pink jersey) when he finished the thirteenth stage.

Tonkov kept the jersey for the rest of the race, except where he lost it to Olano by 46 hundredths of a second at the end of stage 20, but regained it the following day.

[3] The three main contenders named by the media included: Evgeni Berzin, Abraham Olano, Pavel Tonkov.

[3][4][5] El País's Carlos Arribas felt Olano was a contender, but questioned his ability as an elite rider.

[3] Doctor Michele Ferrari named Evgeni Berzin, Olano, and Pavel Tonkov in order of the chance of winning the race.

[3] Berzin also had a fully committed team to support him this year,[3] unlike in the previous edition where he and his teammate Piotr Ugrumov did not cooperate and worked against each other.

[6] Lluis Simon of El Punt felt Olano had performed better than Berzin in the recent Tour de Romandie.

[5] Simon believed that with the absence of Marco Pantani due to a crash at Milano–Torino, the Italian with the best chance to win was Francesco Casagrande.

[4] Due to the large amount of mountains in the final week, Swiss Pascal Richard was thought to have a chance for a high ranking in the general classification.

[4] Young Ukrainian Alexander Gontchenkov showed great potential during the early season and many thought he could be a rider to place high in the general classification.

[4] On 12 May 1995, Athens was announced as the host of the start of the 1996 Giro d'Italia in order to honor the centennial edition of the Modern Olympics.

[16] The race traveled back east across Italy and going north into the Dolomites and heading west and turning south to reach the finish in Milan.

[9][18] The day's breakaway obtained a maximum advantage of two minutes over the peloton, before being caught with 30 km (19 mi) left.

[9] Following an unsuccessful solo-attack by Serguei Outschakov, the stage culminated with a bunch sprint taken by Saeco–AS Juvenes San Marino's Silvio Martinello.

[18] The stage ended with a bunch sprint, won by Glenn Magnusson, that was limited in terms of organization for each team because of the narrowness of the roads.

[21] Saeco took control of the peloton and successfully conducted a lead out for their sprinter Mario Cipollini who claimed victory.

Latvian Piotr Ugrumov attacked with seven kilometers to go and was able to distance himself from a group of contenders that included Abraham Olano, Hervé, Pavel Tonkov, and Davide Rebellin.

[24] In what was thought to be an easy day in the saddle, Claudio Chiappucci and two Carrera Jeans–Tassoni teammates made a move with ninety kilometers left in the flat, eighth stage.

[27] A group of six formed at the front of the race with eleven kilometers left from which Rodolfo Massi attacked and went on to win the stage.

[27] Behind the leaders, several general classification contenders made attacks, but all failed to produce any significant time gains.

[27] The eleventh stage resulted in a sprint finish won by Cipollini, as the race prepared to enter the higher and more difficult mountains.

[29] Fabiano Fontanelli won the sprint to the line between the surviving members of the original eight-man lead group, it was his fifth victory of the season that came from participating in a breakaway.

[29] Panaria–Vinavil's Pavel Tonkov won the thirteenth leg because of a move he made with three kilometers left on the final climb Prato Nevoso.

[33] Alexander Gontchenkov attacked out of the group and rode solo to the finish to win the stage, while time gaps between general classification contenders again did not change.

[33] Laurent Roux and Nicolaj Bo Larsen started the breakaway during the seventeenth stage and did not get caught by the peloton, staying out in front for 228 km (142 mi).

[37] Zaina attacked repeatedly and was able to rider alone until the finish atop the Pordoi to gain his second stage win of the race.

[37] The penultimate stage was filled with more climbs in the Alps, including the Passo di Gavia and the Tonale Pass.

Other awards included the most combative classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes.