i raced in my second crit today at wake forest university, nc, collegiate men's C.

we started off well, but then the group split. i think we were up to 20 seconds behind the first group but by the end we had finished 10 seconds behind. there was not very much organization for a chase.

my first crit a couple of months ago, i got dropped like nobody's business, so I was very happy to stay with the guys in this race (2nd group). we ended up averaging 23mph for about 30 minutes. it felt fairly hard for me, but definitely manageable. i probably couldn't go any faster. one think that sucks, is none of us could tell when our last lap was, so I pulled off when I thought the race was over (some guys had pulled off the course also)... and that may have been wrong, because I'm listed as dead last on the results and i was sure I was not dead last. there must have been still a lap left. so i'm disappointed about that. but i've learned quite a few things:

- don't pedal through the corners i clipped my pedals twice doing that. the first time I wasn't sure what was happening, I thought I ran into a rock that made my bike slid. the second time was a lot harder and i realized what was happening.
- grab wheels as fast as I can during the splits, if i see a gap forming sprint up and get the next wheel.

I have a question though. I realized that during the crit, I had been in the small ring the whole time (but I have an 11 cog on the back, not sure if I used it or not). should i have shifted into the larger ring more or at all??? i definitely felt an advantage coming up the steep hill/sharp turn, i could feel myself accelerating past everybody.

what other tips would could you provide for a better result next time?