SAN SEPOLCRO, Italy, May 24 (Reuters) - Mario Cipollini celebrated the race's return to his home region with his 27th Giro d'Italia stage victory on Monday.

But as his fiery finish clinched the 10th stage, a week after the Tuscan's first in the 1999 Giro, another homecoming was not looking so rosy.

The fans are already buzzing for Marco Pantani's entry into his hometown, Cesenatico, on Tuesday, but the leader's pink jersey still clings to the shoulders of Frenchman Laurent Jalabert by two-hundredths of a second.

The pink jersey that Pantani proudly wore in his Giro triumph last year and took over for a day last week was recaptured by Jalabert in Sunday's time trial at Ancona.

On Monday they finished in the wake of Cipollini's charge without a hope of breaking the deadlock, but it will not stop the partying in the Adriatic resort where Pantani's parents run a snack bar.

After the 189 kms leg from Ancona had finished, the Pantani fan club had lined up another champion to celebrate Il Pirata's homecoming.

Palmiro Bruschi, Italy's champion ice cream maker, had created a special pink ice cream to serve to the Giro entourage.

Cipollini had special reasons for winning on Monday. His two-year-old daughter, Lucrezia, was watching with his wife, Sabrina.

"I hope to win again on Tuesday. Today was my first real opportunity since I won in Catania," he said. But his forces were depleted for the finishing sprint.

"I had only two teammates to pace me into position, but as Pantani's team were working hard I was able to profit from their efforts."

He was still too strong for compatriot Ivan Quaranta, who held off his own teammate Massimo Strasser to take second spot.

Cipollini's other team mates had dropped back to help Dario Frigo save his third place in the overall standings after he had a puncture with two kms remaining in a stage raced at an average of 42.25 kph.

Austrian Gerrit Glomser spent 122 kms in the lead on Monday, but it was a fruitless quest for glory even when his lead was almost six minutes.