Nets and mattresses

There is a new sight along the Giro route this year: nets and mattresses line dangerous turns along the descents. Many riders, from Contador to Armstrong have pointed out how scary these descents can be. Pedro Horillo went over the edge and dropped 80 m on Stage 8 in 2008. He survived the crash and visited the site seven months later.

The new additions are supposed to not only add a sense of security, but also capture those unfortunate souls who would otherwise plunge to their death (or serious injury).

In California the mountains look more like winter now. Below is a shot from Tahoe where the temperatures were in the high seventies until Sunday. The bad weather continued and Monday's second stage was shortened and moved downhill to Nevada City. It was won by Ben Swift. 

Mark missile-man Cavendish won today's flat stage in the Giro.

Tahoe on Sunday

Bad weather is a tradition for the ATOC. It has been haunting the race practically since its inception and was one of the reasons organizers moved the event from February to May. In the past several years, the weather leading up to the race has been spectacular only to change dramatically for the worse as soon as the race takes off. Maybe the weather gods have it in for California and Amgen's tour?