Getting the hang of this "criterium" stuff

Well, I've been fine at smaller local criteriums that typically have ~30 starters, but end up with a leading group of around 5 or 6 riders (me included!) I went to my first NRC crits in early May (see earlier post), and they didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped. However, I gave it another shot at Tulsa Tough. Luckily, the CSC invitational race was also being held over the weekend, so all of the huge names (Colavita, most of Cheerwine, and Aarons) were not in Tulsa.

Friday night was OK. I started out being pretty nervous about navigating the large pack and being assertive about taking open wheels/moving up in the group (the only way to stay out of the back!). By the end of the race, I felt better, but still managed to finish in just 33rd place out of 58 starters.

Saturday was much better. The weather was HOT, and for some of the riders, it showed. Instead of getting shuffled to the rear of the group at the end of the race like before, I hammered the last two laps, rubbed elbows to keep my position, and was able to persevere and take 19th place :D

Sunday, a huge storm came through the area & obliterated the course (trees, powerlines, and tents were blown onto the street!) I was told by a race official that all of the afternoon races were canceled, so I packed up & went home, only to find out later that they held the pro races as scheduled! WTF?!? I am still pretty mad about that one. Only 28 people were listed on the results sheet, so I'm guessing a lot of them got the same bad information that I did.

Riding in criteriums with a large group of very strong riders definitely comes with its own learning curve. I've still got a long way to go, but I think I'm off to a pretty good start.

Well, congratulations! I was in Tulsa Sunday morning and it was pretty scary! My husband was flying out and I was so worried. The day turned out beautiful, though.

I "raced" my son yesterday and went super fast but I had a panic attack over the bumps and had to slow down. I love watching criteriums, but I'll never be able to ride in one! I'm impressed by those who do!

Karen

Good work Andrea! Did you have teammates working with you? I think working together with your team takes it to a whole new level (not that I have done it myself! - we're always just hanging on with the goal of not getting dropped!) Keep those race results coming! Tokie

Hi Andrea,
I haven't posted in a while,but I got on here hoping at least one of you ladies had come to ride or race Tulsa Tough. Sounds like you did well! Congrats!
I hope you will come back next year (and bring friends!). One thing is for sure about the weather... Its just like Will Rogers used to say, "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait 5 minutes" :P Okay -so Sunday, it was about 30 min of really scary storms...but you can almost bet if the weather changes(and it will), then plans will change. Its a real shame you left so quickly. And Im sorry you didn't get to race the most challenging course. I understand why you were upset!!

I was corner marshalling at the top of the hill for all three races yesterday afternoon. Most all the ladies were really suffering in the heat/humidity.

I don't know how you do it on flat courses, let alone a hellacious hilly one like the Riverside Crit. I wouldn't want to climb that one hill even once, let alone over and over for 60min. Even a lot of the men were cracking. It wasn't pretty.

Please give us (and our weather) another try next year. Maybe by that time, we'll have the LARGEST purse in the nation (instead of just the 2nd largest). :D

P.S. I made a video of the Cat 3 men's race on Friday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM3o--Tr2vI

Sorry I didn't get to stay for any of the other races, but I thought you might enjoy this anyway.

Thanks, everyone! I had one other teammate there, and we weren't really able to help each other out much.

Babyblue- thanks for helping with the race! I like the hot weather :D I'm disappointed that I didn't get to race the hill on Sunday, but I'll be back next year for sure- it was a great race!

i am just excited u girls were in my town..tulsa!