No messing around for you Tulsa Tough is one of the premier events in the country IMO. I am not sure where you are located but I know there are local club crits in Oklahoma I would seek those out and do as many as you can before Tulsa Tough.
Agreed, not sure a very competitive and nationally targeted crit that has a reputation of being both physically and technically challenging is a great first race. I would definitely do at least 3 local, smaller races to get your wits about you and gain some basic race experience before heading to Tulsa. No matter where you are in the country the season should have been going for a couple of months at that point.
I completely agree with all of you. I am planning on doing and participating on every crit that i can find prior to this. I live in Wichita, KS and we do have some practice crits and a good group of guys that travel often for crit racing. I am going to reach out to them.
Nice! The energy and environment there is absolutely incredible. Raced in the Red Bull Last Stand last year and would love to go back to do some of the geared crits - especially Cry Baby Hill.
Be confident in yourself and get as much group riding/crit experience in as possible beforehand. Don’t let the caliber of the event intimidate you – it’ll bring such a high psyche; embrace it!