Ulrike et al...
Race tips:
- stay on the pointy end, it's much much harder to be in the last 2/3rds than it is to be in the front
- win the sprint by launching half way down the back straight. If you enter the hairpin in 5th you end up 5th (little to no draft thru corner then 100m to finish means this happens 9 out of 10 races). 1st person into that corner often wins or at least podiums. 
- if it's super windy (very likely) a break can go, so figure out who's strongest and mark them. This is especially true in smaller women's fields. You need five + riders to stick it.
- pedal through all corners, but beware full gas into hairpin means it's possible to plant pedal. If you have Speedplay you should be ok.  Practice to get a feel for it if poss.

Hopefully you guys huddle and assign some race roles and responsibilities.  

Good luck! Go Jules!

good luck everyone, and remember:

Legs feed the wolf...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDuEtGansgU

Ulrike winning her first race this morning.

Nice win @UlrikeGlaser!

Yes - congrats @UlrikeGlaser !

Thank you! Dave Jordan ladies offered me a nice leadout train in the 3/4/5 race 
Got 8th in the 2/3 and I don't know why.... ended up doing the 1/2/3 as well. FINISHED (which was my only aim after the first miles) with cramps on the 13th place. Such a shame that the final was manipulated by the upcoming storm and a really strong gust of wind which almost blow half of the peloton (me as well) from the course in the corner close to the beach.
Doing all three races was pretty crazy, but a really good training as well

UlrikeGlaser said:

Thank you! Dave Jordan ladies offered me a nice leadout train in the 3/4/5 race 
Got 8th in the 2/3 and I don't know why.... ended up doing the 1/2/3 as well. FINISHED (which was my only aim after the first miles) with cramps on the 13th place. Such a shame that the final was manipulated by the upcoming storm and a really strong gust of wind which almost blow half of the peloton (me as well) from the course in the corner close to the beach.
Doing all three races was pretty crazy, but a really good training as well

@UlrikeGlaser you are a machine! just spectacular!!! great performance and way to represent! 

Very, very impressive racing Ulrike. First you and Jill beat that 3/4/5 peloton like a rented mule - it seemed like you were attacking almost every single lap until the end, when you came from 4th (?) place in the last corner and rode around a 3 woman DJ leadout to win by several bike lengths.

Three races in a day for Ulrike. Legend.

Race Report: lots of fun for my first Crit in five (!) years.

I jumped into the Masters race at the very last minute when I realized CRCA was a full race behind schedule and we'd miss our flight if we stayed to race the 3/4. I had to chase for the first neutral lap so that's the excuse I have for not winning

The last crit I was serious abut was Grant's Tomb 2012 when John won and my handlebars came loose and I DNF'd. In those days I was piss poor at cornering and descending, so Crits where of zero interest to me.

After five years of intense Dark Side CX worship I was very surprised to find I was cornering better than anyone in the chase field of my race, and I found myself gapping people on the corners when I was in front or having to grab brake when I was on the back.

I more or less sucked early on, remembered how to race and got good enough to follow Rob Mecca when he jumped and tried to bridge to the lead group. I am fit enough to follow but not to contribute, so when he pulled off it was stick-a-fork-in-me city. I quickly moved into do not get fucking dropped mode and by lap three I was feeling better but my head was still in survival mode. I was happy to roll in "not last" but even more happy to race in KCC colors again and see you guys.

Thanks for the many pedal wrenches that showed up! We made our flight, caught Guardians of the Galaxy II during our layover and made it home to Duluth on time. The visibility was "unlimited" and seeing the milky way in all it's splendor from our front steps was a fitting cap to a wonderful day.

Sounds like we may be back in early October so I'll glue up some CX tires and bring my bike

Congrats @UlrikeGlaser !!! Looking super sharp and strong in Victor's race photos. 

Congrats, Ulrike, that is awesome!

A few photos from Victor Chan:
http://www.oneimagingphotography.com/Clients/Kissena-Race-Season-2017/Orchard-Beach-Crit-5717-1800/n-cL5PTh/

man, sad i missed it!

Anybody doing this race this year? I plan on signing up for the 5 and 4/5. I could use some company 🤓.

@RobertPeras im there for the 4 and 3/4... Ready for some rainy crits!

Sounds good @Kevin Man! @JasonFugett will be there as well.

Yep, I'm also in for the 5 and 4/5. Looking forward to getting absolutely soaked. 

Sorry @RobertPeras @JasonFugett i think imma skip today... It is pouring hard! I would've if it were sprinkling or I have a car. Not worth the 1.5 hr subway ride

No worries @Kevin Man. I pulled something in my lower back carrying my toddler on my shoulders and decided to rest up and not race. @JasonFugett is a nut job so he went and raced.

You guys missed out on a great time! I’m still cleaning road grit and water out of my ears. 

My first race of the day was the Cat 5. It was fairly breezy today with a fairly significant headwind coming down the start/finish straight. The opposing straight had a nice tailwind but had a lot of standing water in some areas. Having previously never raced a crit I had some issues with the tight turn at the end of the tailwind straight (turn 2?). After a few laps I got it down and was able to be competitive and move up a bit. The best place to attack and move up was into the headwind, I felt. I settled in mid pack and finished 11th. 
Next I took on the 4/5 race. I felt like the rain was coming down harder in this race. Between getting right on someone’s wheel and the downpour I felt like I was drinking a liter of water every lap. I was more comfortable in this race. However I believe that an early break of two riders lapped the field. I managed to stay up front for the majority of the race and finished somewhere in the top 10. There was some confusion at the finish as the officials weren’t sure who lapped who. I didn’t stick around for the results as I wanted to get out of the rain ASAP. 

Edit: found the race results. I came in 5th in the Cat 4/5 race. 

Found an action shot from the 4/5. I believe. Sucking some serious wind here...

Congrats Jason! You also are badass for racing in those conditions twice.

That is pretty awesome!!