u/extod2

I recently got my club/team jersey, very carefully checked the size chart and was around the lower end of size S so I ordered that one, since it was marketed as "race fit". Now having done a few rides with it, it's definitely not race fit at all. The fabric bunches up everywhere and flaps around in the wind, especially the chest and shoulder area, and only feels race-tight when standing up. It's only marginally tighter fitting than my other regular non-race fit jerseys. Is this normal for these kind of jerseys, or could it even be a size too large for me?

Had my 3rd ever race and first elite-level race in the form of the national road race championships a week ago in my country, result was whatever but at least finished in the main group. Immediately after the race I realized my mistake, which was constantly falling to the back of the group, so I didn't even get a chance to get into the breakaways of the race. Even if I did make a conscious effort to get to the front, a couple of minutes later I was already back at the tail end of the peloton. So I know what my goal is, but how do I actually go about doing it? Do I just have to constantly follow the movements of the other riders and move up accordingly? Or is there something else to it?