the giro resumed its annual running in 1946. the organizers added the "maglia nera" () for the last rider in the overall classification. bartali and coppi returned to the giro now on separate teams. coppi was put into difficulty in stage nine, where he lost a good deal of time. the twelfth stage was set to pass through pieris on the way to trieste; however, in pieris there were some yugoslavs who threw stones at some armed italian guards. gunfire erupted, the stage was cancelled, and close to twenty riders were escorted to trieste. in addition, there were riots that took place in trieste because both yugoslavia and italy claimed the city as part of their territory. bartali gained the lead after the thirteenth stage of the race and went on to win the event without winning a stage.