Tour of California

3:33 p.m. Rainy weather has canceled the Thursday night Farmers Market in San Luis Obispo, even as cyclists race down Highway 1 toward the downtown finish of Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California bike race.

The city's Downtown Association, which puts on the weekly Farmers Market, has a policy of canceling the event if it is raining at 3 p.m. the day of, an association staff member said.

The previous two years, the Tour of California's State 4 has ended in downtown SLO, with festivities from the bike race bleeding into the Thursday night Farmers Market.

Farmers Market normally runs 6 to 9 p.m.

3:28Crowds in downtown San Luis Obispo are lighter this year, likely because of the weather.

Dave Hunt traveled from Colorado with his family to watch the race.

“This is my first time out here,” Hunt said. “But with this weather, I don’t know what I’m doing out here.”

-Nick Wilson

3:11 Race organizers said the earliest the racers may reach the finish line in downtown San Luis Obispo is estimated to be 4:50 p.m., putting the race about 25 minutes behind the previously slowest-estimated time.

2:19 p.m. The tour is about an hour behind schedule, according to CHP officers monitoring the race. The delay is attributed to the windy and rainy weather.

The riders were expected to pass by Cuesta College between 2:45 and 3.

Giant Bicycles, which is sponsoring San Luis Obispo-based team High Road, had a booth set up at Hollister and Chorro Valley roads at the south side of campus. People at the booth were handing out thundersticks, flags and other promotional items to use to cheer on the riders.

Not a lot of people had set up to watch the race at Cuesta, except for some soggy course volunteers and students.

People in Europe spend the whole day waiting for bicyclists to go by during big events, said Travis Chipres, promotions manager for Giant Bicycles. “That’s one of the things people here are still learning.”

-Leah Etling

1:18 p.m. The race is expected to pass through the Cambria area at 2:30.

Northbound Highway 1 has been closed since about 12:45. Motorists – some who appear angry – have pulled off the road to wait out the closure. The road is expected to reopen around 3. The southbound lane is still open.

Crowds in the Cambria area are small; the weather is cold and wet.

-AnnMarie Cornejo