THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » Road » Amgen Tour of California

Forecasters say this year's Tour of California could be just as wet as last year's

The final stage's trip up 5,100-foot Mount Palomar could be snowy.

Published: Feb. 11, 2009
Astana controls the race on stage 4 last year.
Astana controls the race on stage 4 last year.
Photo: Graham Watson

Last year’s Tour of California was notable for its cool, rainy weather that combined with a nasty bug going through the peloton to produce a 41 percent attrition rate for the then-eight-day race.

This year, riders are hoping to avoid the infection. But there is little hope of escape from a longer, tougher, race and predicted cool, wet and windy weather.

Team OUCH's Tim Johnson, known for his ability to race cyclocross in brutal conditions, says he is preparing for the toughest race of his career.

"It's going to be friggin' brutal," Johnson told VeloNews Wednesday.

"It was already hard last year, and this year there's a harder course and a better field," he said. "And there could be epic conditions."

Toyota-United's Dom Rollin won the stage in epic conditions.
Toyota-United's Dom Rollin won the stage in epic conditions.
Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Monterey-based NOAA meteorologist Steve Anderson says this year's opening stages could be just as wet as last year.

“The first few days will certainly be wet. Probably the wettest day could be Sunday coming into Santa Rosa,” said Anderson, an avid cyclist himself.

On Monday, stage 2 will have the riders starting with a jaunt across the Golden Gate Bridge. Anderson says the historic ride will likely go fine, with a chance of scattered showers. Depending on when a cold front moves through on Sunday night, the riders could face a 20-25 mph headwind on the 116-mile stage as they head south or a crosswind from the west if the front hasn’t moved through yet.

While a steady crosswind or headwind can lead to a calm peloton, Johnson said, the twisty, hilly ride on the coastal highway could be a tense, and exhausting, ride.

"The hills are always tough. A crosswind on that twisty road just makes it all that much sketchier," he said.

Tuesday there is another “decent shot” of rain during the 104-mile stage from San Jose to Modesto, Anderson said.

After that, the NOAA’s computer models diverge, with half the models showing a drying period, and the others showing continued wet weather. In either case, the weather is likely to get warmer as the race moves toward Southern California, at least until it reaches its 2009 highpoint — the trip up 5,500-foot Palomar Mountain on Stage 8, on Sunday February 22.

The race passes about 400 feet below the summit where, as of Wednesday, there was still a foot of snow on the ground, said Palomar Observatory spokesman Scott Kardel.

“We had more than three inches of rain on Friday, then snow on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Monday was snow and sleet — some of the nastiest weather I’ve ever seen up here,” he said.

The snow line is now at about 4,000 feet, although Kardel said the road surface is plowed and clean.

Of course there is no telling what the weather will be like on the 22nd.

“January was one of the driest months on record up here, and that weather pattern could return by next week.”
Email Steve Frothingham

Photo Gallery