2011 Giro d'Italia, stage 10: a Gregg Bleakney gallery

Patrick Gretsch gets some last-minute cleat tightening before stage 10. He’s styling neon kicks this Giro. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Cazzo, cazzo! Crowd control officials had their hands full today with Termoli’s extremely curious fans–here they’re trying to get close to Italian National Champion, Giovanni Visconti. | Gregg Bleakney photo

This little dude (above left of Contador’s helmet) snuck by crowd control officials and then pushed his way through the media scrum to snag Contador’s signature.–just seconds before the stage start. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Contador, now in pink, gets to enjoy sun protection from the pink podium girl for a few minutes at the start of each stage. | Gregg Bleakney photo

A Giro VIP flagging off stage 10. | Gregg Bleakney photo

The JV podium girls walk the final meters of stage 10–the last 100 meters of the sprint had a 4% grade. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Giro finish line swag–a stuffed animal en route to a happy new home. | Gregg Bleakney photo

A finish line crowd control police officer’s family enjoying a prime viewing position. | Gregg Bleakney photo

This cool cat had the best seat in the house for stage 10–from the apartment balcony right over the top of the finish line. He had a direct view down the 500 meter, dead-straight sprint finish. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Cav signs out with a UCI official after winning stage 10. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Petacchi heads back to the bus. He’ll have another clean shot at Cav in two days, during stage 12’s flat 184 km sprinter’s delight to Ravenna. | Gregg Bleakney photo

HTC soigneurs wait with recovery drinks while Cav. gives Mark Renshaw a well deserved hug–much to the delight of fans. | Gregg Bleakney photo

Contador after stage 10. He hung out around his team car taking pictures with a few fans for a few minutes–then he skiped his press conference, getting hit with a 1000 Euro fine. | Gregg Bleakney photo