A winter weather advisory was issued for the area, making it too slick for racers. Participants were disappointed, as well as the president of AEG which presented the event.
"We thought it might rain," said AEG President Tim Leiweke. "We thought it might be really windy, we thought it might be 40 degrees. But we didn't contemplate that it would be snowy, windy and 28."
"I am excited to do the race that's why it was kind of a disappointment," said rider Paul Mach. "You got to realize you can't race in this kind of weather. It doesn't matter how bad you want it, it's not safe and it's just a dumb idea to do it."
The starting point for the first leg of the race was eventually changed to Squaw Valley and got under way Monday morning, with stage two under way in the afternoon.
Lake Tahoe city officials were hoping the race would bring $3 million to the area, but the bad weather could impact that figure.
The Amgen Tour is the largest cycling event in the United States.
CNN contributed to this story
