Houston Grand Criterium

The Race: 2.8-mile criterium course. Long and windy. Out-and-back on a section of Allen Parkway (a divided road in downtown Houston), with 4 not-too-technical right turns (nice wide 90-degree corners). Start/finish line was maybe 100m or so from the first of the 2 turnarounds. The wind really hit you on the way back. Women's Open category. 5 primes, which translates to a prime each lap for this 45-minute crit.

I stayed with the pack the first lap. I kept getting pushed to the inside for the turns, which was a little frustrating, and I couldn't figure out how to get on the outside. When I tried to move over, I just got passed by more riders each time.

I stayed with the pack the second lap. I caught the wind on the outside coming back up the other side of the course, but was starting to figure out how to get over without getting passed (or at least how to gain my position back). Because I got stuck out in the wind, I was in no position to sprint for the prime, and about 8 riders (out of the field of 18) passed me across the start/finish line. I stayed with the pack around the turns, and then we headed back out again.

As we came in for the 3rd lap, and third prime, I was feeling good, and had a great position - a few riders back, out of the wind, with lots of road space to my left. I started sprinting, and was passing all the girls ahead of me! Well...almost all. It came down to me and one other rider, and I just didn't get into my big ring soon enough. I didn't have it in me, and she inched me out for the prime. But by that point, I was spent. I don't have that kind of recovery yet; the two right turns came immediately after that sprint, and then they accelerated again. I lost the pack, and never caught back on.

There were 3 of us who got left behind right after that turnaround, and we tried working together for a while, but we didn't have the rhythm we needed. Two of us ended up working with each other for the rest of the race (her name was Shannon; the third girl DNF'ed), but we never caught back up to the group. On the last lap, we passed a girl who had fallen off the back about a lap after we did, whom we'd been chasing the whole time. In trying to catch her, Shannon got away from me, and the finish line came too soon - she outsprinted me by about a bike length.

So this was another learning experience. Once Shannon and I started working together, we didn't really lose any distance on the pack. I know that if I hadn't sprinted for that prime, I would have been able to stay with the better riders the entire race. There was even a point, on the home stretch of the last lap, where Shannon and I thought we might almost catch them. But I also learned that I'm only inches (and some strategy, and maybe some teammates, too) away from beating a better rider in a sprint. That prime sprint was rough, but I know I was thisclose to beating her, and I definitely gave it my all. The best part is that I'm still in the beginnings of my training -- I've got lots of improvements yet to make, and I see only good things in my future.

Thanks to Bryan, Felicity, Paul, and of course Mike for all coming out to cheer me on -- I do hear when y'all scream my name, and it gives me a little more reason to work *just* a bit harder. (:

Now I can't wait for the weekly Memorial Park Crits to start so I can really hone my criterium skills!