the famed race general classification leader's pink jersey () was introduced in 1931. the color pink was chosen for the leader's jersey because la gazzetta dello sport printed its news on pink paper. the maglia rosa was first worn by learco guerra, who won the first stage of the race. alfredo binda returned to the giro after his absence the year before, but withdrew while leading during the sixth stage. the eventual winner, francesco camusso, attacked during the eleventh stage to claim the lead of the race. binda came into the 1932 giro d'italia in poor form, so he decided to work for his teammate antonio pesenti. during the seventh stage of the race, pesenti gained the lead of the race by winning the stage by means of a solo attack and went on to win the event as a whole.