1st Race of the Season - Snowball Crit #2

It was a nice day for racing with temps in the 50s and sunny. Some windy conditions but the course was protected by trees and buildings.
I felt good warming up. I had a cold 3 days prior to the race and didn't know how my conditioning would be.
As far as the race went, my teammates got a 1st, 2nd and a 5th (out of a field of 45) and another 4 teammates finishing within the pack. I, unfortunately, got pulled with 3 laps left because I had got caught up in a wreck on the previous lap and lost the wheel of the peloton and could not bridge. I managed to stay upright but one of my teammates went down pretty hard. He's ok but has a nasty strawberry on his butt.
The race started rather quickly and those that were not in shape soon found out. Racers were dropping and soon were being lapped which made it dicey sometimes because we had to fit thru one lane of traffic for about 75 yards. I stayed in the middle to back of the pack. I kept trying to get up towards the front 3rd but found it hard to pass on this course. There were 3 crashes and all were in front of me. 2 wheel rubs (solo) and a skid out that took 2 riders down - I almost made the 3rd rider but managed to find a 2' hole between Rob's bike and the curb.
Overall I am disappointed that I didn't finish with the pack because I was feeling good that day. I learned my lesson by saving energy.

Lessons Learned: Stay in the front 3rd of the pack.