Criterion "Crit" cycle race - Easy Valley Rd

I rode my first Crit race today. I didn't know what a crit race was but I had a go anyway. We cycled around a 1 mile loop for 30 minutes and then someone holds up a board showing there are 3 laps to go, and we race to the line. The most noticeable thing about the 3 lap board was that nothing much changed - we still had 3 miles to go so nobody was making a break early.

I wasn't keen on cycling around corners in a pack of other cyclists and kept getting dropped off the back at the corners. Eventually I got the hang of it a bit. A kiwi guy called Gary made a break at about half a mile out but the pack reeled him in (I wish I'd gone with him). I timed the ending quite well and made sure i was with the front pack but as we neared the line I couldn't improve my position and some sprinter came past me, so i was 5th (again). It's funny because i feel like I could win these races but I'm struggling with race strategy and technical aspects. I think I might try to make an early break in the next race, since I'm so bad at drafting I only seem to get a marginal benefit from it anyway. At least at the front I can pick my position.

Good fun, and good to watch the As and Bs go around later, much faster.