north-west Ioannina. The race then transferred to Ostuni located in southern Italy and the race gradually moved north. The sixth and seventh stages included a couple higher categorized climbs from the Apennines. The race continued to move north and enter the Alps starting in stage 13. The race's fourteenth stage finished in the French city of Briançon, which also served as the start for the next stage. Stage 14 included the climbing of the Col d'Izoard and the Col de la Madeleine, which was viewed as a key stage in the general classification race. After returning to Italian soil, stage 16 came to an end in the Swiss city of Lausanne, which also was the start for the seventeenth stage. The race traveled back east across Italy and going north into the Dolomites and heading west and turning south to reach the finish in Milan. In total, there were seven stages that start or finished outside Italy. The 1996 route saw a decrease in the number of kilometers that were dedicated to time trials and the removal of the climbing time trial that had been a staple in years past. Lluis Simon of El Punt felt that the penultimate stage that crossed Mendola, Tonale Pass, Gavia Pass, Mortirolo, and Aprica would be the hardest of the race. Paolo Viberti, a writer for El País, believed that the race would be decided by the final week when the race entered the Alps and the lengthy individual time trial. Race overview 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 left. Following an unsuccessful solo-attack by Serguei Outschakov, the stage culminated with a bunch sprint taken by '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.