The race route was unveiled by race director Vincenzo Torriani on 24 February 1971. The start of the race was announced to be in Lecce after the officials of the city paid 20 million lira to the organization to earn the honor. The race contained 20 stages, one of which was a split stage, and one opening prologue. There were ten stages that included categorized climbs that had points to count towards the mountains classification, including the twelfth stage which was a climbing individual time trial to the Serniga di Salò. Six of the stages featured summit finishes. Together, the amount of climbing for the categorized climbs included in the race totaled to be . There were three total time trials, two individual and one team leg. The final stage of the race ended in Milan at the Vigorelli velodrome. The race was televised in an hourly program each day and also covered over the radio.