The 2016 Giro d'Italia was the 99th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Apeldoorn on 6 May with a 9.8 km (6 mi) individual time trial, followed by two other stages in the Netherlands, both between Nijmegen and Arnhem. After a rest day, there were 18 further stages to reach the finish on 29 May. These stages were principally in Italy, although two stages partly took place in France.

The overall winner was Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali of team Astana, who won his second Giro.

All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and were obliged to attend the race. The first wildcard invitation was secured at the end of the 2015 cycling season by Wilier Triestina–Southeast. While riding as Southeast Pro Cycling, they won the season-long Coppa Italia series; the winners of the series are automatically awarded an entry into the following year's Giro d'Italia. Two of the remaining three wildcard places were awarded to Italian teams (Bardiani–CSF and Nippo–Vini Fantini); the final place was awarded to the Russian team Gazprom–RusVelo. There were therefore 22 teams in the Giro, each of which consisted of nine riders; there are therefore 198 riders in the peloton at the beginning of the race.

UCI WorldTeams

UCI Professional Continental teams

Pre-race favorites were Vincenzo Nibali, Mikel Landa, Alejandro Valverde, Ilnur Zakarin, Rigoberto Urán, Rafał Majka, Tom Dumoulin, Domenico Pozzovivo, Jakob Fuglsang.

Details about the start of the Giro were unveiled on 26 June 2015. It was confirmed that the Netherlands would hold its third Grande Partenza (Big Start) of the Giro, having previously hosted the opening stages of the 2002 and 2010 editions. The stages in the Netherlands will include an individual time trial on the opening day, followed by two road stages suitable for sprinters; to allow for the long transfer, there will be a rest day after the third stage. Stage 9, a 40.4-kilometre (25.1 mi) individual time trial, was announced at a press conference in London on 7 September 2015 and the mountainous Stage 13 was confirmed at a press conference on 21 September 2015. The remainder of the route was unveiled by the race director, Mauro Vegni, on 5 October 2015. After the three stages in the Netherlands, the race moves to Calabria in the south of Italy. The route generally takes the riders north, frequently visiting the Apennines, with stages in the mountains of Friuli and the Dolomites coming later in the race. The final and most difficult part of the Giro comes in the final week, with stages in the Alps.

After a series of moderately hilly stages, the first summit finish comes at the end of Stage 6. It is followed by two more hilly stages, the second of which includes a sterrato (dirt) climb in the final 25 kilometres (16 mi). The ninth stage is expected to be one of the most important for deciding the overall winner of the race: it is a 40.4-kilometre (25.1 mi) individual time trial through the Chianti region. The second rest day followed the time trial. After the rest day, Stage 10 includes the second summit finish of the race – although it was only a third-category climb – which came at the end of a very hilly second half of the stage. After two fairly flat stages, the race again enters the mountains towards the end of the second week, with the difficult Stage 13 ending with two mountains shortly before the finish in Cividale del Friuli. The second weekend takes place in the Dolomites: Stage 14 includes six major climbs, while Stage 15 is a 10.8-kilometre (6.7 mi) mountain time trial to Alpe di Siusi. After the final rest day, the third week of the Giro begins with a rolling stage that includes a climb in the final 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), then two more fairly flat days. Stages 19 and 20 again take the riders into the high mountains: Stage 19 finishes on the 12.8-kilometre (8.0 mi) climb of Risoul in France, then Stage 20 includes three first-category climbs on the way to another summit finish. The final stage takes place over a sprinter-friendly circuit in Turin.