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. Tonkov kept the jersey for the rest of the race, except where he lost it to Olano by 46 hundredths of a second at the end of stage 20, but regained it the following day.