This is a flat, fast 4 corner crit, with a slightly oblong shape so that turns 3 and 4 are semi-linked. The start/finish is about 3-400m from the last turn, so it's a good solid sprint, but you still need to have good position going into the last turn if you want to get a decent result.
I love crits, but the multiple laps make them tend to blur together for me, so my race description is (uncharacteristically) short: the race was fairly agressive, with multiple attacks going on throughout the race. But the wide open nature of the course and the fact that no teams had more that 2-3 people meant that nothing was really going to stick. I made one effort to get into a break, attacking with a guy from NCC just after a prime sprint. We had a good gap initially and picked up a kid from UConn, but NCC's eyes must've been bigger than his stomach, as he fell out of the break before he ever even took a pull. After half a lap with just two of us, and the pack not far behind, UConn and I looked at each other, shrugged, and let the pack catch us. I kept good position for most of the race, and was sitting in 5th wheel at 3 to go. But we got swamped on 2 to go and I ended up having to fight my way back up on the last lap. I ended up taking a chance following a guy from Expo Wheelmen as he made a move up the outside going into turn 3 - I'd heard one of his teammates asking him if they should set him up for the sprint, so I figured he was good. This may have been the case, but he also wasn't a great handler, and was on his brakes through both turn 3 and 4, which is not a recipe for success when everyone is full gas. I had a good sprint and managed to get 16th/46. It's not a terrible result, but I'm also a little frustrated: I feel like I had more to give on the final lap - my power data and heart rate seem like I could have gone harder, and I'm thinking I should have burned another match to get up to the front on the last lap. I might have risked having some pop for the sprint, but would have also had a chance for a better finish.
The good: Was never in any real difficulty, did a much better job than in previous years holding position, saved a lot of energy by being near the front on corners and by letting a gap form on corner entries, then rolling into them on the exits.
Things I learned: 1.) If you find yourself thinking "I'm in great position with 3 to go and my heart rate's not even near threshold," you're about to get swarmed. 2.) On wide turns, you can gain a lot of positions by taking the outside line on the turn - you take a longer line, but I found I could hold better speed. 3.) Lesson 2 becomes less true when the speed gets higher (final laps), because the pack's speed won't sag as much through the turn and people tend to turn a wider arc at higher speed, so you're more likely to get pinched. 4.) That guy who's sketchy on lap two? His handling's not going to be any better on lap 22. 5.) The biggest one for me: if I'm not in ideal position in the final lap burn a match - it's better to have tried a big move than to have regrets later.