In 1991 he beat Steven Rooks of the Netherlands and Miguel Indurain of Spain, and in 1992 finished ahead of Laurent Jalabert of France and Dmitri Konyshev of Russia.

Bugno's victory in the Giro d'Italia in 1990 is considered one of the most dominant performances in that race — he led from start to finish.

In a battle in the 1992 Tour, Indurain kept his calm despite Chiappucci's attack in the Alps; Bugno had to chase and cracked in the final parts of the stage.

He has remained involved with the Giro d'Italia by being one of the TV helicopter pilots for the Italian national broadcaster, RAI.

In November 2012, in the wake of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, he demanded that an independent anti-doping body be established.