Winston-Salem Cat 2,3 Crit

The Final Day of the Crossroads Cycling Classic was the Winston- Salem crit. It was once again a cat 2,3 race and lasted about fifty minutes. There were about 60 riders in the field. The course was about 2.5 k in length and was rolling, winding, and had five turns. The final four turns were in the last kilometer and a half or so, so positioning in them was important. I knew from the first lap that a break wouldn’t get away because the course wasn’t difficult enough and one team had a few strong riders and would control attacks for their sprinter. I spent the day trying to maintain position at the front of the pack and bumping shoulders with guys. Small groups of guys would go off the front of the group, but all their attacks would be brought back after less than a lap. During the last five laps I remained in the top ten in the group and was still conserving for the sprint. During the last lap I thought I was going to crash in one turn but managed to keep it upright. I went into the last turn which was about 250 meters before the finish line in fourth wheel. It was ideal position for me, but I couldn’t come around one rider in the end just because he had a faster turn of speed than I did. I am satisfied with my first weekend back to racing and hope I can continue my progression into the Tour of Elk Grove Crit in Chicago next weekend.