The 2006 Giro d'Italia began on 6 May in Seraing in Belgium, and stage 11 occurred on 18 May in Pontedera. As is usually the case in a Grand Tour, the first half of the race was considerably easier than the second half – both rest days occurred before the halfway point, and there were no mountain stages or stages ending with climbs among the first eleven. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, who had won thirteen stages in the last two editions of the Giro, fractured his kneecap in stage 3 and was forced to abandon the Giro and miss the rest of the season.