Rare May snowstorm sets back California cycling race
A snowman holds a sign along the route that would have been the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California cycling race.
May 16th, 2011
11:08 AM ET

Rare May snowstorm sets back California cycling race

A rare mid-May snowstorm forced organizers to cancel the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California cycling race on Sunday and move the start location of the second leg on Monday.

The beginning of the second stage Monday will now be in Nevada City, California, instead of Squaw Valley, organizers reported on their website.

The Amgen Tour of California is described as a Tour de France-type event and the largest cycling race in the country. The world's top cycling teams compete.

Officials changed the stage two start point after the snow forced the closure of the Donner Pass on Highway 80, the only exit from the High Sierra to California's Central Valley and a key section of the original stage two route, Cyclingnews.com reported.

Race organizers canceled the first stage of the tour on Sunday when the storm dumped up to 7 inches of snow over some parts of the Lake Tahoe and Truckee areas, the Union.com reported.

Cyclists weren't the only ones with weather-related headaches.

About 1,800 Pacific Gas and Electric customers lost power on Sunday, the Union.com reported.

The area could see more snow down to the 2,400-foot level Monday night into Tuesday, Kathy Hoxie, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Sacramento, told the Union.

To the west, even the Bay Area saw snow from Sunday's storm. About three-quarters of an inch covered the top of 4,200-foot Mount Hamilton, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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Filed under: California • Cycling • Sports • Weather • Winter weather
soundoff (36 Responses)
  1. noemi

    Can anyone see russia?I'm so lost

    May 16, 2011 at 9:38 pm | Report abuse |
  2. frl'9lk

    Pretty disheartening to see such collection of desperately empty remarks. Carving your initials into the digital picnic table. This is America's premier bike race and, granted, pointless to the public majority. But if you don't get it, have the dignity to shut up, politely.

    May 16, 2011 at 9:46 pm | Report abuse |
  3. 12970

    Cyclists are wimps, just like baseball players who don't play in the rain. This is an opportunity to award the white jersey for "Best Rider in thhe Snow".

    May 20, 2011 at 12:12 pm | Report abuse |
  4. gary

    Notice the climate change the USA is suffering? REad "Storms of my Grandchildren" by Hansen

    May 20, 2011 at 5:54 pm | Report abuse |
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