Cat 4/5 35 division. I finally got to start in row 2 rather than in the last row (15 yesterday). It made all the difference. I sprinted out with the lead group and slowly worked my way through the lead group of 10. I took the lead in the second lap but only briefly. I was slowly clipping back in on a remount and was passed. I tried to hang on but didn't have the technical skills of the leader. I was 10-30 m behind him for a the next lap and a half. Then I was chasing hard and crashed on a deep, sandy downhill turn. I got up as quick as I could but he had 50 m on me so I was just trying to not get caught from behind. He was definitely going to win but the he flatted and I took the lead again with a lap to go. The guy behind me was catching me but I was confident that I could ride in control and hold him off by pushing the straightaways. Then I messed up. I starting clipping out a bit too late before 2 stairs in the deep sand. Before I could get my second foot out (other foot was out and I was side-saddle) I hit the deep sand and rocks and fell hard again. I got up quickly but not quickly enough. The guy behind me had closed the gap and we rode on my wheel for the rest of the lap. I tried to save a little energy for the final sprint up hill on the pavement but it wasn't enough. We came off the final turn onto the pavement and he just had way more power than me in the sprint. Maybe if I went harder on the second to last straight I could have got a gap but I was definitely tired from yesterday. Overall super fun despite finishing bruised and bloodied. I'm going to try to move to cat4 so I can accrue points to upgrade to cat3 by the end of the season. Loving CX!!!