Sean Yates on Sky website;

“Rigoberto, Xabi and Appollonio finished today and the other guys pulled out because of the cold. The race obviously finished at kilometre 155 and the commissaires said on the radio that a decision would be made this evening about what happens.

“I don’t think the result can stand for GC. They can’t say the finish is 10k up the road when the break has a 10 minute lead. The bus is still at the finish and there’s around a half a metre of snow and it has to come back down. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

“The reason Bradley and Richie pulled out was because they were too cold to continue. They set out to get a result but they couldn’t keep warm enough. We’re in the dark as to whether they could start tomorrow. It’s a shame for us and everyone else that the conditions were such that they had to abandon the queen stage. The people who run the ski station said ‘you can’t come any further’ as it was too dangerous.

Not a good situation to be in at the end of a race and no bus. It seemed from the Video linked by bicing that riders were having to put on rain gear and cycle to somewhere......a mess.

jeebus that is a lot of wet snow!

what is forecast for next few days in that area??  guess I'll check the world's weather   

For a race of this type, the stage should have been cancelled before it started. Very dangerous, riding in cold fog, for a minor stage race, early in the season. Checking out the video, you can see how wasted the riders are, spread out, going slowly, plus look at all the DNFs.
Also check out how quickly the team cars are booking out of the finish, to take care of their riders. Protecting the safety and health of the athletes is of paramount significance.
A lot like the ToC stage one cancellation, a good call. Protect the athletes before spectacle, under all circumstances.

In the event they don't alter a stage to add some 'selectivity' perhaps a split stage with a short TT would be a sensble addition and add a small element of credibility.

 I'm not sure how replacing today's big mtf, with a ITT would add any credibility, unless you mean by splitting the group currently at 1'32".
 Best case scenario would be to toughen up one of the remaining stages.

In any case,  the teams already had an idea that today might get scrubbed, yet still allowed a rider of Albasini's quality to ride off into the stage one sunset..........

For a race of this type, the stage should have been cancelled before it started. Very dangerous, riding in cold fog, for a minor stage race, early in the season. Checking out the video, you can see how wasted the riders are, spread out, going slowly, plus look at all the DNFs.
Also check out how quickly the team cars are booking out of the finish, to take care of their riders. Protecting the safety and health of the athletes is of paramount significance.
A lot like the ToC stage one cancellation, a good call. Protect the athletes before spectacle, under all circumstances.

absolutely

I'm not sure how replacing today's big mtf, with a ITT would add any credibility, unless you mean by splitting the group currently at 1'32".
 Best case scenario would be to toughen up one of the remaining stages.

In any case,  the teams already had an idea that today might get scrubbed, yet still allowed a rider of Albasini's quality to ride off into the stage one sunset..........

Indeed I was talking about splitting the 27 riders on 1.32, and agree that a toughening up of a stage would be most beneficial to the credibility of the race.  However it wouldn't be the first time I/we would end up being disappointed by a) rumours not coming true or b) race organisers not finding the best case scenario.

Perhaps if Ventoso had been in the Movistar team (or indeed the race incentivised teams bringing more sprinters) there would have been more urgency in the chase.  But again you're right #pelofail on stage 1.

Roche tweeted this picture this morning...
https://twitter.com/#!/nicholasroche/status/182720766670938113/photo/1/large

and followed up with this; "At this stage we have no idea on how to get to the start of race. And question n•2 is there a race today?"

pee up.  Brewery etc...

Roche Update

https://twitter.com/#!/nicholasroche/status/182746978327855104/photo/1/large

Time gaps today wont count apparently which is probably the right decision.

You cant give the peloton 10 km warning that you are chopping 60km off the stage. What should have happened is decision made before the race. Organisers messed up.

how can it be the right decision? They had 8 minutes with 50km to go. The winner of the GC was in that group. And then they suddenly decide to annul the time gaps. GreenEdge gets rewarded for doing nothing or being weak. That's ridicolous.

Then they should have annuled the time gap of Albasini as well. After all, the big gc men wouldn't let him go if they knew the mountain stage would be cancelled.
Either you do something right or you don't do something at all.
The way it is now, the leaders of yesterday rode for nothing.

Unfair.

Not going to help them in the long run is such haphazard organisation.

how can it be the right decision? They had 8 minutes with 50km to go. The winner of the GC was in that group. And then they suddenly decide to annul the time gaps. GreenEdge gets rewarded for doing nothing or being weak. That's ridicolous.

Then they should have annuled the time gap of Albasini as well. After all, the big gc men wouldn't let him go if they knew the mountain stage would be cancelled.
Either you do something right or you don't do something at all.
The way it is now, the leaders of yesterday rode for nothing.

Unfair.

 It's not unheard of though, is it?
I was watching stage 11 of the 2008 Giro on Monday. It rained, it was a cobbled finish. That's exactly what they did. Sprint for the win-no time gaps. Same again in the Year of Our Lance -twice. The Milan crit?

Of course, you position has nothing to do with a certain Mr Kruijswijk being up there?

But the point is that they peloton were riding thinking the stage was at the normal finish - then they get told its going to get shortened - with 20km to go. So how is it fair on the whole peloton that the break was allowed to win with such a time gap?

There's always going to be losers in this sort of situation, you just have to go with the most objective and fair for the majority, decision.

http://c-cycling.blogspot.se/2012/03/no-luck-for-team-saxo-bank.html

todays stage - (0 km) Bon dia. Avui etapa de 199 km entre Tremp i Ascó. Amb 3 ports de muntanya de 2ª cat. Esperem que el dia acompany... #voltacatalunya

The day after a very long day, the Volta a Catalunya resumes today started with the dispute of the fourth stage, again a long journey of 199 kilometers, and the double pass through the Coll I Paumeres (2 nd), 8 , 6 km / 5.6% at the end of travel. The final climb is only 18 kilometers from the finish line.

With Michael Albasini leader, the decision of judges to disregard the time of the stage, the stage will begin at 12:30 and end by around 5 pm. One day more, you can follow BiciCiclismo Online.

Step 4: Tremp-Ascó "The Vostra energy", 199 kms.
km Alt Fontllonga 27.8 (2 nd)
Km Coll I Paumeres 150 (2 nd)
Km Coll I Paumeres 179.8 (2 nd)

The fourth stage between Tremp and Ascó and 199 km, has all the numbers to decide on a breakaway. The two final climbs to coll I Paumeres decide the winner. In Ascó have gained in recent years Pierrick Fedrigo and Jens Voigt, two runners with similar characteristics and the most militant in the international peloton.

Kruijswijk shouted "El Paso" as he crossed the finish line, which is the trigger for DT to make a fuss about something. Don't think DT realises though, that the shout was because he didn't know there was a finish line (that's a #rabofail).

Very funny, sir. ;D

And possibly not far off the mark.