7^th March 2009
Location: Shrewsbury
 

Time: 1h 5m 57s
Overall Rank: 8/51
 

Event Information:

Course: 1km flat circuit.  55mins + 5 laps.
Weather:  Cool, dry with little wind

BIKE       01:04:57│24.2 miles│22.36mph

Comments:
This was my first race of the season and first ever criterium so my only goal was to not crash and finish with the main bunch. There were a few scary moments including one where I went on the attack and tried to pedal around a tight corner and my pedal hit the ground and the numerous times we went into the hairpin so tightly packed together.

After about 20 minutes two riders went off the front and I joined them. We stayed clear for about 10 minutes but were inevitably caught. After that I just stayed in the pack and as the end was nearing made my way up to the front (not as easy as the pros make it look!). I was third in line coming out of the last hairpin but didn't have the finishing speed to hold that position. Maybe if I hadn't attacked earlier on...

It was a fantastic race and really enjoyable. I also managed to secure some points for finishing in the top 10 :).

 

What would I do differently?
Stay tucked away in the bunch till the final sprint for the line. I think this kind of race will always end in a bunch sprint so it's just a case of saving energy till the end.

Event Comments:
Very long queue for registration and the event was a good 40 minutes late.