Field Gets Tougher For Tour

SEATTLE - There's little question in Daniel Farinha's mind that the Tour of Walla Walla, which could arguably be called the Tour of Waitsburg for the bulk of the races held here, is gaining in stature across the country.

"I had heard about it before," said the 18-year-old racer, whose own reputation as a national competitor is growing. "I think there are some pretty good riders coming up. I'm looking forward to the race."

The tour is returning to Waitsburg this weekend,and residents should expect bicyclists to arrive in town Thursday and wrap up late Sunday.

Although participation in the race this year is down just slightly from last year because of the economy, the caliber of racers seems to go up each year with riders and teams appreciating "the field" in both senses of the word: the challenging, rolling wheat-country terrain and the quality of the racers they're up against.

"The route really suits our guys," said Allen Wahlstrom, manager of the brand-new team Farinha, and a handful of other young, up- andcoming riders have joined in the past few months.

"This is our hometown ride," he said. "That means we have to do well."

You heard that right.

Wahlstrom, who was based in the Tri-Cities, has come to like this area so much he decided to make Walla Walla home for his red-jerseyed U23 Formigli Pro Development Team for the Firefighters Cycling Association based in the Tri- Cities. The team is sponsored by Allegro Cyclery downtown Walla Walla and trains for high-level races, including the Olympics.

"I just love it up here," he said. "The roads are great. The climate is great, and the shop (Allegro) gives us fantastic support. Everything came together."

Farinha and his teammates, who were riding in the Volunteer Park Criterium in Seattle when this newspaper caught up with them Saturday, are among 525 riders signed up for the Tour of Walla Walla this weekend.

Race manager Steve Rapp from Allegro said the races are different this time in the Waitsburg area, starting with the Waitsburg Road Race Friday afternoon, a grind and loop up the steep Middle Waitsburg Road, and ending with the Kellogg Road Race, a Sunday series up McKay Alto north of town.

"The word has spread about this race, so we're moving things around," he said. "The good racers like it to be tougher."

Racers will begin to arrive in Waitsburg on Thursday. Registration is at the Don Thomas Building at the Fairgrounds, and the Friday race will start from 10th and Coppei with three groups just 10 minutes apart from 3:45 p.m.

They will be "in neutral" behind the lead car until they reach the summit that will be the finish line again this year, then get into the race, which will see its first finishers around 6 p.m.

Races will resume Saturday morning in Walla Walla and return to Waitsburg on Sunday for the flagship event, a quad-biting 20-mile loop racers will do as many as three times depending on their classification.

The Sunday race also starts at Coppei and 10th, with the first of two groups of four heading up at 8 a.m. to Bolles Road and McKay Alto toward Starbuck, following Whetstone and Kellogg Hollow back to McKay Alto to the finish line on Lower Whetstone Road.

Rapp said there's little level terrain on the route.

"We think it will liven up the race, requiring more of an attacking style," he said. "They may have raced conservatively in the past. Now, all weekend long, people will try to stake some ground. There's not a lot of time to regroup, and there could be a strong headwind on McKay Alto Road. This is not going to be a stroll in the woods."

And that's exactly what Farinha and his friends are hoping for.

"I hear it has some pretty intense climbing and dirt/ gravel roads," said teammate Andy Goessling, who drove up from his home in Berkeley to join the Firefighters team before the race in Seattle.

"I love that," he said as he and three other team members were spread out around the back of the team car, donning their gear and getting fired up for the midday crit, a series of timed laps that add up to a city streets race.

Goessling, who comes from Northern California, one of the strongest districts in the country for generating winners in his sport, said he is still adjusting to life outside the San Francisco Bay Area.

"It definitely has a differ- ent vibe here," he said about Seattle and Walla Walla. "I'm excited to give it a shot up here."

Farinha has already embraced the Northwest with recent training runs on the Waitsburg routes. One of the first things the San Jose native noticed was the absence of smog.

"It was really pretty, clear and green," said Farinha, who is used to vegetation quickly turning brown where he is from.

He started racing at age 13 after his dad, who worked for the NUMMI GM/Toyota plant in Fremont, took him riding during a camping trip near their home. His first race was the Cats Hill Criterium named for the Los Gatos (Spanish for the same) area where it is held.

Last year, he placed third in the nationals for the 17-18 age group in Bend, Oregon, and this year, he expects to compete in the Nationals U-22 races, which he predicts will be much tougher.

He trains almost every day and races in one event or another almost every weekend. "I want to pursue biking the best I can," he said.

He will be in good company.

Other high-caliber racers expected to show up in Waitsburg include France's Emile de Rosnay placed 29th in the world, and national champs from the United States and Mexico, Rapp said.

"There are a number of bios with substantial racing experience," he said. "I'm excited about this year's race."