Tour of California Stage 1 - South Lake Tahoe - North Lake Tahoe 191 km

[flipteez]

I was in South Lake Tahoe today for the race - flew in from Michigan to be here. When they cancelled I thought it was a travesty; it had snowed over night, but by noon it was mostly clear and dry. I'd joked with one of the race volunteers about the Three Foot of Snow Giro, Andy Hampton and how wimped-out this generation has become.

THEN we drove back on Hy 89 - the route the riders would have taken along the west side of Lake Tahoe. For the first eight to ten miles it was wet - more than rideable. Then it started snowing; pretty heavy at times, but the roads were only wet. Once we got to the top of the first KOM (13 miles into the race) it was twenty-six degrees, the pavement was real wet and traffic was jammed-up doing twenty MPH. On the other side of the top it got bad. The decent would have been dangerous. Before the bottom there was nothing but two or three inches slush on the road. Cars we sliding going up small inclines; it would have been a nightmare on 21 mm (or 28mm) tires. There was fifty yard visibility at times and the road was two or three inches deep in snow.

They made the right call - hate to say it, but they did.

I'm sitting at the bottom of Donner Pass right now. the rode up's closed.

Hope they race tomorrow - it's a Cat 2.

 

[lucybears]

Maarten Tjallingii

30cm of snow and still snowing. Good they cancelled the stage. Hope we can get out of here tomorrow.

36 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

 

[MacRoadie]

Just checked CalTrans traffic cams and it looks like they're still getting freezing rain in Squaw and at Soda Springs.

Traffic Cams

 

[krebs303]

Photo motos braving what canceled today's #atoc stage.

 

[Scansorial]

Weather looked terrible at the start:

??????????

Where'd you get that picture? That's definitely not from today.

 

[MacRoadie]

Where'd you get that picture? That's definitely not from today.

Cyclingnews tweeted it this afternoon, just before the start with the caption:

Weather improving for #ATOC start

Weather improving for #ATOC start

They tweeted this one earlier in the morning:

#ATOC start preparations

RR Posted THIS pic at 12:35:

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=519766&postcount=112

 

[Scansorial]

I was out there at Emerald Bay and I can tell you that it's definitely frustrating from a fan's point of view. I don't want guys to risk their lives for my entertainment, but for them to do it so last minute like that is what hurt. They made the decision to postpone around 9 AM PST, right? Then I heard on the radio there would be a press conference at 12. Why not cancel it at the press conference? Why not put a backup plan in motion?

I know hindsight is 20/20, but they made a huge mistake either not having a good backup plan or not actually going through with the backup plan. It was perfectly clear in Carson City, a mere 25 miles away. It may sound crazy to move everything that far, but they had to have known they were playing with fire when they planned the stage.

 

[Scansorial]

Cyclingnews tweeted it this afternoon, just before the start with the caption:



Weather improving for #ATOC start

They tweeted this one earlier in the morning:

#ATOC start preparations

RR Posted THIS pic at 12:35:

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showpost.php?p=519766&postcount=112

I stand corrected. It looks like the roads actually had a chance to get dry for a little while: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...1/attachment/amgen-tour-of-california-2011-28

 

[mewmewmew13]

Where'd you get that picture? That's definitely not from today.

It is hard to believe, but that definitely can be what it looks like and then one hour (or less) later it looks like a white-out. In the mountains, if there is no cloud cover, the sun is intense, but as the huge squalls blow over the ridges, it can change in a matter of minutes.

That is why , when people go hiking, mountaineering whatever in the summer or anytime in the mountains that it seems to be innocuous and beautiful, there are horror stories about folks losing their way, becoming hypothermic or worse, and a 'simple -hike-or-climb-gone-wrong' becomes epic.

I've been on some big peaks in climbing expeditions and have seen many fatalities...people just not knowing when to turn around or getting caught on a ridge or exposure and ignoring some nasty clouds that are heading your way.

I'm sure glad the riders were smart. Folks that want selfish and pure entertainment at the expense of the riders' safety should be ashamed of themselves...

 

[MacRoadie]

I stand corrected. It looks like the roads actually had a chance to get dry for a little while: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...1/attachment/amgen-tour-of-california-2011-28

That's the Northern Sierra for you...

 

[mewmewmew13]

Sorry, Scansorial...just saw your updates. I wasn't particularly aiming at you, but sometimes people just don't believe that conditions can change so drastically in a matter of minutes at elevation.

..just like I am pretty clueless when I am on the ocean..I have no familiarity with taking care of my a** out there.

 

[Anonymous]

Where'd you get that picture? That's definitely not from today.

Actually, it is. Conditions got worse after that.

 

[Tuarts]

Some of you cycling fans are absolutely absurd. You're worse than Zomegnan.

 

[9000ft]

CN forums, home of second guessing, highly informed experts on all things bike racing.Yep, undoubtedly taking a risk by having a race around Tahoe in mid May. Today's weather is unusual, but not unheard of. OTOH, you race in the mountains you can get winter storms at any time of the year and while the odds are certainly better for crappy weather in mid May, the odds of good weather are statistically not too bad. Undoubtedly you have a better chance of good weather in say, San Diego, but a lot of things go into the selection of race routes.

As far as a contigency, like what? All the planning and infrastructure for the race is set up for this stage. Pulling off a road race like this on public roads is a huge undertaking, you don't just pull everything up and move in one or two hours.

It's a real bummer and I'm sure there are a lot of unhappy people right now how have a lot more on the line than all the experts on the interwebz.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Having lived outside of Reno for nearly 9 years, and spending countless days in the Sierras, Mewmew13 is correct. The weather can be very changeable. Sunny and crisp one minute, and an hour later sleet and low visibility. The Cascades are actually worse.

Having said that, what a disaster for the promoters to have no back-up plan. Even a short lapped 50-mile circuit race down the hill towards Sacramento would have been better than this, which was nothing.

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

There should have been numerous alternate plans in place in case of a weather event like this... why not a prologue??

 

[SierraSkier]

Snow is certainly unusual this late, but anything can happen in the Sierra before June.

What a shame for the race, it could have been one of the most beautiful stages ever.

What a shame. I am a Tahoe local and we were so hoping that the weather would be good for the race. It snows every May here, well every May for the past 12 years I have been here, but it still only snows about once every 10 days or so, and then its usuallly not this energetic. It has snowed every June I have been here, but the odds are it is going to be nice.

I hope the race organizers will consider bringing the race back. The community had embraced having the race here and we were hoping to show off some of the great roads we have around Tahoe. This is a awsome place to ride, well as long as you like climbing anyway. I really hope this isn't the end of the Tour in Tahoe.

 

[SierraSkier]

There should have been numerous alternate plans in place in case of a weather event like this... why not a prologue??

My buddy who lives on the other side of the hill at 3000 feet had snow at his house this morning. Thats 50 miles away. Usually even just getting onto the east shore of Tahoe would be fine and forget the west shore. But this storm was really energetic. At 1:15 when the delayed stage was going to start we picked up another 3 inches at my house and I had to use 4 wheel drive to get up a small hill.

The race organizers got dealt a bad hand with a vigorous storm. I think they did the best they could with this weather.

 

[mewmewmew13]

On one hand I feel sorry for the organizers, but I actually feel worse for the fans that were there and the riders.

I would imagine some heads are rolling on this one. It seems like a bit of a cluster... the odds of having bad weather in spring notwithstanding, I can't believe they really had no better alternatives.

I'm glad I was not the responsible party, as there must be HUGE political pressure as well as the nightmare of logistics w/r to public safety officers, road closures, etc etc.

They sure didn't need this.
Not sure what will happen tomorrow either. A no-win for anyone really.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

All kidding aside, canceling the stage was the correct course of action.

 

[ElChingon]

Will the race organizers ever consider starting at the South End or there abouts and ending in Sacramento? As others have mentioned Feb. was said to be bad due to the Feb. weather, which is always better... in the South of California. Now its moved to May and Nor. Cal is still a bit cold if not as we can see rather freezy! So if they moved the start to the South and raced to the North they might buy some time? or weather?

Still blows me away how they are so entrenched in the same area's (routes), with such a large state there are countless possible stages yet they keep the same M.O., still failing to produce a non-weather impacted race.

 

[Polish]

If the AToC survives another year and returns in 2012, they should try this stage again. Chances are it will be a beautiful day! Be a great stage.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

California has some amazing climbs. Look at the Everest Challenge. The last climb each day is epic. Both would make excellent stage finishes.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

California has some amazing climbs. Look at the Everest Challenge. The last climb each day is epic. Both would make excellent stage finishes.

Yeah some of the finishes really impress me. A shame that it is during the giro. I'd like to see a decent field on this course.

 

[danjo007]

by saying its weak that they wont ride due to cold or wet; im guessing you've not descended a big climb and on a sweeping bend and discovered black ice.

its not the snow that going to hurt.