Update: 4 p.m.: The race finally got under way in Nevada City, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The abbreviated 76-mile race ended with a sprint finish at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The winner: Ben Swift of Team Sky. Tomorrow's adventure: 122 miles from Auburn to Modesto. The weather forecast: Occasional rain showers and a stiff southerly breeze--yes, a headwind.
Update, 7:40 a.m.: Here's KQED's story on the Stage 1 cancellation on this morning's "The California Report: Tour of California's First Stage Snowed Out. (And yes, we're updating it to reflect today's shorter stage.)
Update, 6:50 a.m.: The winter weather in the Sierra has prompted Tour officials to cut today's stage in half, moving it from Squaw Valley all the way down to Nevada City. That reduces the stage from 133 miles to 61 miles, and moves the start back from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Here's the lemonade-from-lemons announcement from Andrew Messick, head of AEG Sports, the lead Tour organizer:
“Nevada City did an outstanding job hosting the first stage of the 2010 race and we know that the riders and fans will appreciate the return. We owe a debt of gratitude to Andy Chapman, Carol Chaplin and everyone in Squaw Valley, who worked tirelessly to create what would have been an exceptional Stage 2 start and hope that we will have an opportunity to bring the Amgen Tour of California to the city in a future year.”
Earlier: The plan for the second stage--is it still second if there was no first stage?--is to ride from the Squaw Valley ski resort down to the town of Truckee, ride along the north shore of Donner Lake, then climb up to Donner Pass on old U.S. 40. It's a gorgeous route and would be ideal if you didn't have to think about traffic or the weather.