Originally Posted by joe2

Did my first race today, cat 5 on a one-turn (the highest point) course of 500m with 7 starters, 20 minutes. I think I got 6th but since we had A and B riders sit in I was not sure who was actually ahead of me. I started too fast and ate wind in the first 5 laps that I didnt need to. I held it together in the first half, but when I lost focus on the downhill while drafting I saw that we had a 15m gap and gaining. In retrospect I needed to recognize the move at the lead in to the corner so I could stay on the main group. There was one other rider to work with, but neither of us had the fitness to push for a break. The finish is at the top of the rise so I put in a dig up the hill with 2 to go and make a gap, but underestimated how much you really need to push the last lap, and got beat on the "sprint". It was not what you would call great racing but wow was it a blast. It helps that the group is really supportive and the series is well established and well run.

EDIT: first post, hi everyone, I've been reading for a while