Il Giro d'Italia 1991, settantaquattresima edizione della "Corsa Rosa", si svolse in ventuno tappe dal 26 maggio al 16 giugno 1991, per un percorso totale di 3 715 km. By the early- to mid-1990s endurance athletes were dying in their sleep because their lower resting heart rates couldn’t shove the red sludge through their blood vessels. Maximilian Sciandri won the stage, but in the havoc of the climb, Marie was dropped, making Induráin the Pink Jersey.The final stage was a 66-kilometer time trial into Milan. In the flat stages sprinters challenged each other to thrilling duels, including the outstanding Bontempi and Mario Cipollini who also succeeded in gaining the Maglia Ciclamino. Fu vinto da Franco Chioccioli che si impose con il tempo di 99h35'43", alla media di 37,303 km/h. Of course Induráin won it, catching Chiappucci just meters before the finish. The five-year contract with Berlusconi’s television channels expired and negotiations with the RAI were resumed, but once again the agreement broke up and RTI continued the cooperation with the Giro.For the first time after 1954, RAI did not broadcast the Giro. Agonistically, the Giro had a beginning dominated by sprinters and then Tonkov and Olano took the lead. The Giro came back to Milan for the epilogue with a circuit around Parco Sempione with the finish line in front of the Castello Sforzesco.The start was given from Elba for the first time after the Giro had shortly been there in 1980. All this relegated the sport dimension in the background but justly awarded an American rider for the first time, Hampsten, followed by Breukink and Zimmerman. A new drug had entered the pharmacopoeia of the competitive cyclist, EPO. Május 26-án kezdődött és június 16-án ért véget. In the Aprica stage, the Mortirolo was to be climbed for the first time: soon it was considered very hard, even on the side of Monno.
Verlauf. Végső győztes az olasz Franco Chioccioli lett. In the early 1990s at least a dozen bicycle racers died in their sleep. He finished 37th and went on to earn 23rd in the Tour, winning a single stage. He was followed by Ugrumov and Chiappucci.In Borgo Valsugana the Giro risked a dramatic turn: with approximately one kilometre remaining, some riders went out of the route and rode over a pregnant woman who, luckily, was injured lightly without any consequence for her pregnancy.In the Grand Start from Bari, with a time trial on the promenade, Gianni Bugno, who had already started the season successfully by winning Milano-Sanremo, proved to be the undisputed leader. Mai bis zum 16. Athen, where the first Olympics had taken place, was chosen to celebrate both events. Fignon couldn’t stay with him, neither could Chioccioli, whose short time in the sun as the master rider was over. He wore the Maglia Rosa in the San Marino time trial on day three. Induráin biographer Javier Gárcia Sánchez said that the gratuitous catch was intended to give Chiappucci a psychological blow for the upcoming Tour de France. With a kilometer to go, the Spaniard was still pulling his train up the mountain. Herrera, no danger in the General Classification, took off for the finish, but Chiappucci had to let the Induráin group go and gave up 30 seconds.The next day’s 38-kilometer time trial was Induráin’s. Of the competitors, the closest was Chiappucci, more than a minute slower. Toni Rominger proved his undisputed superiority: he controlled the whole stage race at will, quenching all his opponents’ attempts in the Selvino time trial. Laurent Fignon, who in March had won the Milano-Sanremo, came back to the Giro with the intention to win.
Yet, in a remarkable turnabout, the same “Z” riders could not keep up with the best teams in 1991 Tour.