Livermore Crit Race Report from Carissa Y (2021)

Race Report -Cat4/5 Livermore Crit (7.25.21)
My first crit back since ToAD (and 6th ever). I was feeling a lot stronger than before I left for ToAD so I was eager to see where I stand locally. I got to the race at 9 because a few of my friends were racing the Cat 5 men’s race and it was a first time for some of them. After my second breakfast, I started warming up and getting myself into the race mindset. Boy it was hot like in the mid-90s. I tried to look for panty hose to put ice in it this past week but couldn’t find it - decided to pour water on myself instead. Lost one of my contacts 5 minutes before the race but thankfully had some replacements in the car - lol.The Cat4/5 race (40 minutes) had about 20 racers, and pretty diverse in experience level. The girl in front of me was having some shifting issues so I passed her and went for another wheel. I inserted myself in the front pack and told myself to draft as much as I could. 5 minutes in there was an attack, some girl just took off and I stayed in the pack, caught up with her later. I didn’t want to do anything aggressive to trash my legs in the wind tunnels so coming from the last corner every lap I tried to sprint, which works as I quickly came to the front. I didn’t want to pull but 20 minutes in I ended up pulling, for 4-5 laps. I was really hoping to slow down and let the peloton come through in the windy sections. I was also trying to follow a wheel as soon as I saw one. But alas, I was pulling and the gap was not big enough. I also noticed 2 people planning tactics as the race went on and one of them definitely tried to stall me to let her teammate go.When there was one more lap to go, a girl came in my right literally between me and the curb. I protected my wheel and she ended up getting bumped (hope she’s ok!) I think the physical touch slowed me down a little bit as that’s when the peloton started catching up and passing me. It was right before the windy sections so I had a hard time  inserting myself back in. Sprinted at the end and passed one girl by 1 or 2 seconds. Got 9th place. I’m proud of myself for protecting and stealing wheels multiple times and for trying to pull, I guess.Being my 6th race and 1st California race, I’m definitely still learning from each race. Thank you @Meredith Nielsen for lending me her jersey so that I had an opportunity to rep BBC. Some awesome friends of mine came all the way from SF and Oakland to support me. It was a great day Where are my BBC crit racers at? We need more women racers in general and also teammates to plan tactics with

Race Report from Carissa Yao