Conditions: dreary. Seats: lots of empty ones.
The women's road race began Sunday on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace under gloomy conditions that left plenty of opening seats on the grandstands lining the route.
There was a massive crack of thunder during the rider sign-in that sent fans scurrying for cover, and only a few hundred people were around to watch a dance troupe perform before the start.
It's the second straight Olympics the women will have raced in the rain.
Nicole Cooke of Britain managed to survive a downpour in Beijing four years ago to win Olympic gold. She was among four riders for the home nation on Sunday attempting to deliver the medal that eluded their powerhouse men's team on Saturday.
— David Skretta — Twitter http://twitter.com/APdaveskretta
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