Goals going into the race were to ride smoothly with the pack and be more assertive about my position. Extra points for getting into break attempts. Internally I thought it’d be pretty cool to get a top 20 but it’s hard to say with these large 1/2/3 races.

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I can’t believe I have to wait another year before I can ride that course again!

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I don't really know what I expected going into my first crit. I knew there was a distinct possibility I would get dropped (and tried to mentally prepare for it, but how can you ever?), but I also really felt like, after months of doing pretty hard rides and training, that I could potentially fare well along a group of other cat5/newly minted racers. I know some of the women in 4 field are particularly strong, but I assumed there would be a split with two packs. I was trying to be optimistic. I'm never sure if I am too hard on myself, or overconfident, and in the end I think I just do neither very well.

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Lined up towards the back which was an absolute mistake. I wasn't as confident about this race as I should have been, and was intimidated by some of the stronger riders and 3s in the field. Should have stuck with my original game-plan from the Cat 4 race, which was to go hard for the first half lap to ensure a good position through the U turn and in the lead group. Instead I ceded a lot of ground at staging to 'stronger' riders, and had to fight my way through and around into the first chicane.

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I lined up in the second row, and about as soon as the whistle blew, just as I went to clip in, I felt a big blow to my rear wheel. There was a bunch of chaos and I got shoulder checked on both sides, but stayed up. By the time I was clipped in, the field was already riding away from me towards the U turn. I put in a decent sized dig to reconnect with the group, thinking I could take the U turn fast and latch back on.

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i'm always unsure where i am in the beginning of the race season and starting with the season with a crit that often either ends in a bunch sprint or a huuuuge solo break meant that my options felt kind of limited. i spent the past week of sleepless nights trying to think about how i would approach this race and kind of wrote up some thoughts. my initial plan that i had written earlier in the week kind of broke down as i simulated the race over in my head over the week and my confidence waned.

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