The race came to a close with a 133 km (82.6 mi) mass-start road stage that stretched from Clusone to Milan.

[1][2] Second and third were the Ukrainian Serhiy Honchar and Italian Gilberto Simoni.

[3] Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 171 cyclists.

The 2004 Giro d'Italia began with a 6.9 km (4.3 mi) prologue around the Italian city of Genoa.

[12] The race's first mass-start stage came down to a sprint finish in the city of Alba.

FDJeux.com, Lotto–Domo, Acqua & Sapone, Ceramica Panaria–Margres, and De Nardi each won one stage at the Giro d'Italia.

Ceramica Panaria-Margres's Emanuele Sella won the hilly stage 11.

De Nardi rider Serhiy Honchar won the stage 13 individual time trial.

For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey.

[15] The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.

Other less well-known classifications, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey, were awarded during the Giro.

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

[15] Phonak was the most successful in avoiding penalties, and so won the Fair Play classification.