Tour of California Race Shortened Due to Snowfall

For the first time ever, the Amgen Tour of California had to cancel one of its legs due to the snowy weather. Now, the race will only last seven legs instead of the originally planned eight. This will cut the race by 118.7 miles, from the original 763.8 to 645.1.

“The riders discussed it as a group, and we just don’t feel comfortable riding knowing what can happen, especially in light of what happened last Monday”, said Levi Leipheimer, who has won the Tour of California three times. “We still have a full week of racing ahead of us, so we want to make sure everyone is healthy. With the weather conditions the way they are, racing today is just not possible”.

Last Monday, Wouter Weylandt, a Belgian cyclist from the Leopard Trek team was died after he crashed during a decscent in Giro d’Italia. The first leg of the race was supposed to be dedicated to him.

Before the 144 cyclists called off the first leg of the race completely, they pushed it start time back by nearly three hours and shortened the first leg to 49.2 miles. However, since the weather persisted, the decision was made that the riders could not safely venture out so the first day had to be cancelled.