The 2008 Tour of Walla Walla Stage Race represented the first regional race of the season in which nearly every female member of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com was present, and the results were astounding. The ladies rapidly meshed as a team and managed to clinch an impressive 1st place in the team GC competition, along with 2nd, 4th, and 5th individual GC results, as well. In the words of one of their biggest fans, these ladies proved that, "They are clearly the strongest women's road racing team in the Northwest!"

The women of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com arrived in Walla Walla, WA, on Friday afternoon, as several opted to participate in an optional road race that would not count toward the weekend's stage race. Ally Stacher and Sarah Barber felt the training and race experience would serve them well, and they were accompanied to the start line by teammates Jenni Gaertner, Kim Turner and Jeanne Rumps. The riders faced gusting winds that rivaled the previous weekend's at the Chicken Dinner Road Race and promised an extra challenge when combined with the rolling hills just outside Waitsburg, WA. Along with many of the racers in this smaller field, Rumps and Turner pulled up earlier in order to save their legs for the next day's effort. Stacher, Gaertner, and Barber hung tough and executed a plan that turned heads and forced hard chasing by their rivals. A tailwind climb up a canyon saw Stacher set a blistering tempo, upon which Barber attacked, shattering the peleton and ultimately forming the winning breakaway, which included Barber and six other riders (two from one team). At the end of the day, the vicious winds at the flat finish led to a cat-and-mouse hesitancy for the final sprint. Unfortunately, Barber has never considered herself a sprinter, and finished 6th in the group. Stacher and Gaertner were well-positioned in the chase group, both pulling off top 10 finishes in the remaining field sprint.

Despite a mildly frustrating Friday result, Barber and her teammates gained confidence and excitement for Saturday morning, which began the two-day three-stage Tour of Walla Walla. Cold temperatures had the gals of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com uncertain about attire for the morning's medium-length out-and-back time trial, but they must have done something right. The women nailed four of the top eleven places out of a starting field of over sixty women! Allison Beall was the team's fastest finisher, coming out in 4th place. Jenni Gaertner impressed everyone (including herself!) with a 5th place only one second behind Beall. Barber's legs recovered well enough from the previous day's race to finish in 7th place, and Rumps rounded it out with 11th. Up-and-comer Sarah Brown gutted it out for 19th overall but 2nd amongst the Cat 3 riders. Ally Stacher, without any aero equipment at all, still bested over half the field with 25th. The young Kimberly Turner also finished strong, giving Team Bobs-Bicycles.com a threatening appearance to all their competition.

That same afternoon, the ladies embarked on a 60 mile road race which included several trips up a 3K climb where the race would finish. Misfortune struck Rumps early in the race with a flat tire, and although she chased hard for the remaining 50 miles, she had insisted via radio that her teammates and potential GC contenders not wait for her. Instead, she picked off dropped riders one by one, and trained her time trialing ability in a way that no effort outside of racing could match. Meanwhile, Stacher stayed near Gaertner, Beall, and Barber, interested in helping protect their GC standings and put time on their competition if the opportunity arose. On the second-to-last trip up the 3K climb, Barber launched a solo flyer that ultimately split the pack, creating a temporary break of about twelve ladies, including four from Team Bobs-Bicycles.com. However, it wasn't to be. The majority of the peleton re-grouped, and the finsh was fast and furious. The ladies were gassed from earlier efforts, so they did what they could to finish at the front and maintain their GC. As it turned out, Beall, Barber, and Stacher all took top 10 spots, with Gaertner, Brown, and Turner close behind.

By Sunday morning, the women of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com had all moved ahead in GC due to their strong uphill finishes on Saturday afternoon. Beall was in 2nd, Gaertner in 3rd, and Barber in 5th. The L-shaped criterium course in downtown Walla Walla was filled with excitement from the small crowd of spectators, as well as another blustery bit of weather. Nervous humor graced the ladies' pre-race, coffee-guzzling strategy session. Several hot rivals posed serious threats to the team's GC spots, as both finish placings and prime laps offered time bonuses that could upset the current standings. Furthermore, the team knew they had a talented sprinter in Gaertner, making victory a very real possibilty. As luck and circumstance would have it, though, there were a number of good sprinters with the backing of strong teams who had been working together for years. On their first ever criterium together, the ladies of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com were unable to do more than hold onto what they already had, and were actually forced to surrender one GC spot, slipping back because time bonuses created a tie that was broken by the stage finish. However, special props to Rumps and teammate Gaertner's husband, Mike, who did a superb job with radio direction from various locations on the course. The words "Move UP!" will echo in riders' minds for days to come. Hats off also to Stacher, who spent multiple laps on the front, driving the pace to discourage other teams from launching attacks.

The women of Team Bobs-Bicycles.com solidly sent a message to the tough field of racers and spectators that they are THE team to beat in the region. Congratulations to Brown, Turner, Stacher, Beall, Rumps, Gaertner, and Barber (and Jenn Halladay: we missed you tons! Great work at Sea Otter--way to represent!)! Here's to teamwork! A special thank you also to our wonderful hosts in Walla Walla: Joann and Keith Schmiz, you were so generous and so much fun to live with for the weekend! Thank you for the phenomonal hospitality, excellent cooking, and great conversation. We hope to see you next year when we return to defend our team title.