“I’ve never seen such a turnaround in the weather,” says Ronde van Vlaanderen winner
The decision to cancel yesterday’s first stage of the Tour of California was one greeted by universal approval, especially among the riders. The heavy snow that fell on the roads around Lake Tahoe rendered the course too dangerous and, after first shortening the 191km route, race organisers decided that the only safe option was to cancel.
One rider pleased with the news is Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank-SunGard) who, as a Belgian, is used to riding in cold conditions, but not racing in weather that bad. Nuyens spoke to Belgian TV station Sporza after the news had been announced.
"When I stepped outside, it was between -1 and -2 degrees [Centigrade, approximately 30 degrees Fahrenheit – ed]," he said.
"It's freezing, and cycling on these roads - with a lot of frozen patches – can’t be done; especially the descents. Fortunately, the organizers realised; it remains to be seen whether we have to ride the second stage because the roads are bad.”
Following the tragic death of Nuyens’ friend and compatriot Wouter Weylandts in the third stage of the Giro d’Italia, safety is an issue at the front of many riders minds.
"Common sense has prevailed,” said Nuyens. “What happened to Wouter Weylandt last week is still with us here in the peloton. We could all see that it was dangerous and they understood this.”
The stage-cancelling weather feels all the more harsh to many of the riders because of the high temperatures experienced when they arrived at Lake Tahoe the day before.
“I’ve never seen such a turnaround before,” he said. “When we arrived it was 27 degrees and I had to rub on some sunblock."
Due to the continued poor weather, the start of the second stage to Sacramento has been moved from North Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley to Nevada City. Once arriving in the Californian state capital the race will ride three laps of the finishing circuit instead of just one, to make up the missed mileage.