Disappointing Finish

Well, my first race in over 10 years was a little bit of a disappointment as I finished 20th in a bunch sprint after getting blocked in on a hill in turn 2. My plan was to get to the head of the field with 2 or 3 laps to go and then attack with 1 or 2 laps to go depending on when I could position myself. Unfortunately I overestimated the pace that the field would carry over the small climb and when we hit the climb the field slowed and bunched up to the point where I could not get around anyone and was stuck trying to push through the middle. I was hoping it would be more strung out so that I could sprint over the top of the hill but on the last lap I just couldn't squeeze through as everyone was spread across the entire road and I had to wait for the bunch sprint. It wasn't dicey at all as everyone made the final turn without any crashes and unfortunately my positioning was just not ideal for getting around guys in the sprint. I'll take 20th for my first race I guess but I felt very strong and probably should have left the field on the hill a little sooner. Next week is Whitnall Park and it is a longer loop of 2.3 miles with a good climb so I'm hoping that I can just get to the front and stay there and make a move on the hill to get away. Overall it was a good weekend, I had some jitters before the start but after we got going it was like old hat again and I had no issues with riding in the group. I learned that the Masters 4/5 field can't climb really well so since that seems to be a strenght of mine this year I'll make use of that in other races. I still haven't started the Specialization Period of my training so once I start doing more speedwork and sprint work I should be able to win a few of these races as I am no where near as strong as I will be sometime in June or July. Should be a good year! Oh yeah, I'll post some pictures of the race later tonight.