Returning champion Carlo Galetti won the race's opening stage into Florence and was the first to lead the race. He lost the lead to Giovanni Rossignoli after Galetti finished poorly on the race's second stage. Rossignoli held the lead for four days after Galetti took back the lead after the sixth stage. Frenchman Lucien Petit-Breton became the first non-Italian to lead the Giro d'Italia after the race's ninth stage. Petit-Breton lost the lead the next day to Galetti, who then held it all the way to the race's conclusion in Rome.
