There is a big variation in crits. In Melbourne for example, St Kilda D grade might be C grade CCC and B grade SMCC. Sandown vs Teardrop vs Casey are all really different courses.
The last crit i got dropped at sandown and i was always losing wheels especially when tired. I was trying to hard to ration my power so i didnt have to brake. I rarely ride in groups so im not very efficient. I respond to every attack as well. I remember a 1200w x 3 second effort at glenvale from responding to an attack
You mentioned riding Glenvale and Sandown in the same week. Don’t underestimate the affect of fatigue carrying over from one race to the next. One other thing is do lots of easier bunch rides where you are riding smoothly and close to other riders. I suspect you might be expending a lot of mental energy, when things should be a bit more ‘automatic’. Your power numbers seem good.
Yeh the sandown after glenvale, i average 255 watts for 20 fewer minutes. Great point.
@Infectedgoat , based in Sydney so don’t know the courses or the speed/quality of the grades in Melbourne but a few observations/changes i have made after being in a similar position. Similar type of rider I’m 6’3, a bit heavier and similar power numbers, racing C grade
• I stopped chasing attacks – this was hard for me as I would always worry a break was going to be made and I’ll continue to get dropped but what I ended up doing was waiting/preparing for a response from another rider that I could either work with or jump on the wheel of. If that did not come I would give myself more time to respond. I used to try and close it down quickly. I now try to level my effort to be more measured
I try to recognise the rhythm of the race and prepare or bias toward my strengths/capabilities examples are
• Short punchy uphills – I actually would give a small gap (1 or 2 bike lengths) and use my weight/momentum at the base of the hill. Previously I would have to slow down as the lighter riders didn’t have the momentum, I then had to dig deeper to hold on. This is the same for corners as I found I can corner better than some riders so I would try to work out who can corner well and who can’t and then adjust accordingly
• Track changes – I can think of one course I race on where the track/course thins out and goes from about 4m wide to about 2m wide (road to bike lane). Every lap the field would accelerate into that bottleneck. To balance my effort I would move up a few hundred metres before that point in the track which helped me stay in touch.
Not an extensive list or silver bullet, just my experience. Good luck