page_title: 1996 Giro d'Italia
section_title: Race overview
hierarchical_section_title: 1996 Giro d'Italia / Race overview
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: PARIS-NICE 1997
context_page_description: The 1996 Giro d'Italia was the 79th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began on May 18 with a mass-start stage that began and ended in the Greek capital Athens. The race came to a close on June 9 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city of Milan. Eighteen teams entered the race that was won by the Russian Pavel Tonkov of the Panaria-Vinavil team. Second and third were the Italian rider Enrico Zaina and Spanish rider Abraham Olano.
  Silvio Martinello led the race for four of the first five stages because of his victory in the first stage and high-placing on the fourth stage. Stefano Zanini briefly took the lead away from Martinello following the third stage that featured a more mountainous stage profile. After winning the event's sixth stage, Pascal Hervé overtook Zanini for the lead for a single day, after which Davide Rebellin captured the lead with his winning efforts on the seventh day. Eventual winner Tonkov obtained the race leader's maglia rosa when he finished the thirteenth stage.
context_section_description: The opening day of racing witnessed several crashes due to the poor road conditions and encroachment from cars that resulted in the abandonment of a few riders. The day's breakaway obtained a maximum advantage of two minutes over the peloton, before being caught with 30 km (19 mi) left. 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. The riders protested the conditions they were subjected to on the first stage by riding the second stage at a significantly slower pace than usual. 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. The third stage ended in the same fashion, with Giovanni Lombardi winning the day, while the race lead moved to Stefano Zanini because of time bonuses he earned for finishing high in the stage. Several breakaways formed and were caught during the fourth stage, with the final one being caught with under a kilometer remaining. Saeco took control of the peloton and successfully conducted a lead out for their sprinter Mario Cipollini who claimed victory. In addition, Martinello regained the race lead and with it, the race leader's maglia rosa (English: pink jersey).
  Ángel Edo of Kelme–Artiach team won his first sprint victory since the 1994 season on stage five. The sixth leg of the race was the first to feature several higher categorized climbs. Festina–Lotus's Pascal Hervé won the stage by a margin of four seconds and moved into the first place in the general classification. The seventh day of racing featured the first summit finish, to Massiccio del Sirino. 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. Berzin made a move to follow with five kilometers remaining, a move that dropped Olano and Hervé. Rebellin attacked with three kilometers to go, which only Tonkov and Stefano Faustini could mark. As the trio reached the line, Rebelling edged out the other two for the win while also obtaining the race lead. 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. The trio of riders established a large enough lead to give Chiappucci the virtual race lead. Amore & Vita-Galatron and Saeco took control of the peloton and lifted the pace with under twenty kilometers left. Chiappucci's group was caught before the finish and the sprinter's set up for a field sprint, which was won by Cipollini.
  The ninth leg featured more attacks from the Carrera team, particularly from Enrico Zaina who attacked throughout the stage's closing kilometers. The peloton finished in fragments to the numerous attacks that occurred in the final fifteen kilometers, with the winning attack coming from Zaina and Gontchenkov. Zaina dropped Gontchenkov near the finish and won the stage by four seconds over a large chasing group. The tenth leg was a mountainous stage that navigated through Tuscany. 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. Behind the leaders, several general classification contenders made attacks, but all failed to produce any significant time gains. The eleventh stage resulted in a sprint finish won by Cipollini, as the race prepared to enter the higher and more difficult mountains. The twelfth stage witnessed the day's breakaway survive the encroaching peloton by two seconds. 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.
  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. Piotr Ugrumov was the only rider to mark T
caption: Mario Cipollini (pictured at the 1997 Paris–Nice) won the most stages at the race, with four.
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