| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 22 May – 12 June 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 22, including one split stage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,730 km (2,318 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 100h 41' 21" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1994 Giro d'Italia was the 77th edition of the race. The Giro started off in Bologna on 22 May with a short 86 km (53.4 mi) stage. The race came to a close on 12 June with a flat stage that stretched 198 km (123.0 mi) from Turin to Milan. Seventeen teams entered the race, which was won by Evgeni Berzin of the Gewiss–Ballan team. Second and third respectively were the Italian Marco Pantani and the Spanish rider, Miguel Induráin.
Berzin first gained the race lead after the fourth stage where he attacked on the final climb to win the day. The race's overall classification was first headed by Endrio Leoni who won the Giro's opening road stage. However, Leoni lost the lead later that day during the afternoon individual time trial to Armand de Las Cuevas. De Las Cuevas held the lead for a single stage before losing it to Moreno Argentin who won the race's second stage. Argentin held the general classification lead for two stages, before Berzin took it after stage 4. After gaining the lead, Berzin began to build upon his advantage after winning the stage 8 and 18 individual time trials and maintaining good form throughout the mountains.
Berzin became the first Russian to win the Giro d'Italia. Berzin also won the young rider classification for the best rider aged 25 or under in the general classification. In the race's other classifications, Swiss rider Pascal Richard won the mountains classification, and Djamolidine Abdoujaparov of Team Polti–Vaporetto was the winner of the points and intergiro classifications. Carrera Jeans–Tassoni finished as the winners of the team classification, which ranked each of the seventeen teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time. Team Polti–Vaporetto finished as the winners of the team points classification, where the teams' riders are awarded points for placing within the top twenty in each stage.