First crit of the year for me... race report.

Cat 3 crit, 40k, about 30-35 racers. For the first 3rd of the crit, my teammate spent some time off the front in a break but got caught. In the counter attack, a few people went out and I responded, following them. Over the laps, our four man break got about 35 seconds on the field.

Until... a friend in front of me crashed in a corner on account of forgetting to wear his contacts (luckily he took no one with him), and I cramped up with a side stitch. Of course, I was the lone sprinter in a group of TTers, so that could have had something to do with it. Anyways, I fell off the back of the break, the four man lead turned into 2, and after a few laps I got swallowed back up by the main field and recovered in the back.

With about 5 laps to go, a teammate got off the front and stayed off, somewhere between the break ad the main field. Lots of attacks and counterattacks that tired down the mass field. I stayed out of the wind, sucked wheel and got deep in the drops. With about two to go, I got in the front to avoid being boxed in... then got swallowed back up into a midpack box. Lap to go, same deal... but this time, I took the lead of the main group, got a few bike lengths on the field while we overtook 2 lapped riders through the last corner, then took a tight line through the corner alone and sprinted for the mass sprint win. 5th place overall. Stoked!

Next week: 75 mile race, feed zone, 1/2/3 field, 50mph descent and supposedly a 15% grade somewhere in there. Real ass road racing...