Completed my third crit on Sunday and did much better. I was able to read the pack a lot more than before - and put the hurt on! Those poor girls. It's really fun setting the pace. Now I just need a teammate to be with to launch constant attacks.
From the start line, I geared down and took off like a bandit. A teammate followed me and said - "Jen, we're off the front - let's go for it." And low and behold, once we got going, our own teammates free-rode the peloton to us. Whoops! Hopefully that won't happen again.
I did pull a rookie move though. They rang the cow bell to signify a preme and I sprinted to be the first across the finish line, only to find out it was the following lap. What a dork. You have to start somewhere though. And that won't happen again. I placed 6th overall - impressive considering the previous day was 62 miles in 3.5 hours and 5,000 feet elevation gain. (I am not satisfied though - that stinkin' competitive gene in me!)
This upcoming weekend we are racing at the Tour of Walla Walla. It incorporates a individual time trial, road race and crit in two days. I'll let you know how it goes.

Spazzdog - excellent posts! You are a fantastic resource for me - thank you for your thoughtful and researched answers. I share them with my entire team.