The 2019 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race organised by RCS Sport that took place mainly in Italy, between 11 May and 2 June 2019.

[3] The race was won by Richard Carapaz (Movistar Team), who became the first Ecuadorian rider to win the Giro d'Italia.

[4] Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida) finished 2nd, with Slovenian rider Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) in 3rd place.

[6] Pascal Ackermann (Bora–Hansgrohe) narrowly won the points classification before Arnaud Démare (Groupama–FDJ), with Damiano Cima (Nippo–Vini Fantini–Faizanè) in third place.

Riders believed to be the main contenders for victories on the sprint stages are the current German national champion Pascal Ackermann (Bora–Hansgrohe), Frenchman Arnaud Démare (Groupama–FDJ), Australian rider Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Soudal), Colombia's Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), and the defending winner of the points classification, Italian Elia Viviani (Deceuninck–Quick-Step).

[14][2] Following the first rest day, the riders tackled two flat stages with finishes in Modena and Novi Ligure.

[14] The twelfth stage, relatively short at 158 km (98 mi), started from Cuneo and included the climb of Montoso [it], 1248 meters above sea level.

[15] The thirteenth stage has been considered to become the first big test for the riders aiming for the general classification and included the race's first summit finish, at Lago Serrù, close to Ceresole Reale.

[14] The first stage, an 8 km mountain time trial in Bologna, was won by Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) who therefore became the first wearer of the maglia rosa, the pink jersey identifying the leader of the general classification.

Viviani won the stage on the road, but judges later relegated him for an illegal sprint, which handed the win and points classification to Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates).

[27] Stage seven was another day for the breakaway, this time Pello Bilbao (Astana) fending off Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) for the victory.

[28] Stage eight saw Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Soudal) take the sprint over Elia Viviani and Pascal Ackermann, the holder of the maglia ciclamino at the time.

[30] A slight controversy opened up the second week, with stage ten ending in a reduced sprint caused by the fall of the maglia ciclamino holder Ackermann.

Ackermann would finish, although losing the ciclamino to Demare, and Matteo Moschetti would withdraw from injuries sustained in the incident.

[32] Stage twelve followed the common roads of the Giro di Lombardia, where Cesare Benedetti (Bora–Hansgrohe) of the breakaway took his first pro win over Damiano Caruso (Bahrain–Merida) and Eddie Dunbar (Team Ineos).

However, on the other end of the spectrum, big names like Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and Simon Yates (Mitchelton–Scott) lose multiple minutes on the day.

[35] The fifteenth day of racing was one for the break again, as Dario Cataldo (Astana) edged out Mattia Cattaneo (Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec) for the win, with Yates once again placing on the podium.

Damiano Cima (Nippo–Vini Fantini–Faizanè) outlasted the sprint trains to take a surprise win over Ackermann and Simone Consonni (UAE Team Emirates).

Andrea Vendrame (Androni Giocattoli–Sidermec) and Amaro Antunes (CCC Team) made up the top three, with Lopez gaining around 45 seconds on his rivals.

[40] The penultimate stage of the Giro was maybe one of the more exciting ones, with Pello Bilbao (Astana) taking another one for himself over Landa, with Ciccone not far behind in third.

[43] About 60 km (37 mi) from the finish of stage 18, a spectator walked onto the road shortly before the escape group reached the spot and dropped a bicycle in the path of the riders.

On 4 June 2019, it was reported that the identified perpetrator, a man from Tunisia, faced expulsion back to his home country due to his actions.

[44] During the final ascent to Croce d'Aune on stage 20, Miguel Ángel López was knocked off his bike in an incident with a spectator.

Even though UCI regulations stipulate that a rider who engages in physical violence is to be disqualified from the event, López was given no punishment for his action.

[46] On 15 May 2019, the UCI announced that they had provisionally suspended Kristijan Koren (Bahrain–Merida), part of his squad for the 2019 Giro, for his alleged involvement in the Operation Aderlass doping case.

The rider with the lowest cumulative time is awarded the pink jersey (Italian: maglia rosa),[49] and is considered the winner of the Giro d'Italia.

Initially, the Cima Coppi was scheduled to be the Passo di Gavia on the sixteenth stage, but due to weather the climb was removed from the itinerary.

As a result, organisers chose to assign the Cima Coppi to the highest climb out of those which had not been ascended – the Passo Manghen on stage 20.

Another classification – the combativity prize (Italian: Premio Combattività) – involves points awarded to the first riders at the stage finishes, at intermediate sprints, and at the summits of categorised climbs.