A Disaster In the Making?

The ultimate stage of the ATOC could be a disaster. It's been pissing down rain for 24 hours, the Rose Bowl is a soggy mess, and there's been talk that the roads up in the mountain passes in the middle of the stage are icy. Up until a few minutes ago, I heard the race jury were considering scrapping most of the stage (the mountainous run-in from Santa Clarita) and just running a crit around Pasadena.

The NEP production truck is leaking - right into the switcher. Will the aircraft containing the cameras and the wireless be allowed to fly? That's another critical question of the hour.

This is a classic example of why bike racing is nowheresville in the US. Americans like their sports run under tightly controlled environments. If somebody is going to risk a lot of money on a television production, it must not only be a good close contest, but it must finish on time and within a tightly scripted envelope. Bike racing, on the other hand, even under the best of circumstances, is simply a big string ball of chaos.

Stay tuned.