Bruno Leali (). The team with the youngest average rider age was (25), while the oldest was (29). From the riders that began the race, 132 made it to the finish in Milan. The teams that took part in the race were: Pre-race favorites The starting peloton included the 1992 winner, Miguel Induráin, who had not had a successful start to his 1993 campaign. He hoped to repeat as winner of the Giro and the Tour for the second consecutive year, stating "My main objective remains the Tour de France, but I will still try to win the Giro." If Indurain would win the two Grand Tours in the season, he would be the fourth rider to accomplish winning the Giro and Tour in one season twice in their career. Despite this, Indurain was viewed as the favorite to win the general classification. Maurizio Fondriest () was thought to have entered in peak form after winning several races in the spring campaign, including Milan–San Remo and Tirreno–Adriatico. El Mundo Deportivo writer Javier de Dalmases believed Fondirest would be the first rider to don the race leader's maglia rosa (). Indurain felt Fondriest was the rider to watch in the race's first week. Gianni Bugno (), who won the race in 1990, prepared at lengths for the race and was seen as a threat in the time trial stages. Bugno won only one race before the Giro started, the Grand Prix Gippingen earlier in May, but was thought to have a strong showing at the Amstel Gold Race. Author Bill McGann dismissed Bugno saying that his ability to "win at will" had passed. With no victories in the season, 1991 winner and 3rd-place finisher in 1992, Franco Chioccioli () was considered a dark–horse contender. Other favorites named for the race included Pavel Tonkov and 1988 winner Andrew Hampsten as contenders for the overall crown. Claudio Chiappucci was thought to be the one of the most potent climbers in the race. Specifically, a L'Express writer commented that Chiappucci's performance on the Sestriere time trial in the 1992 Tour de France as an example of his climbing prowess. In addition, he had several second-place finishes in the Giro and Tour the previous year. Famed sprinters Mario Cipollini and Djamolidine Abdoujaparov did not compete in the race, while Dutch sprinter Jean-Paul van Poppel was going to race in the Giro but was left off