Pro race at farmington

After fighting a cold for about a week and a half, I finally started feeling well enough for race day in Farmington CT. The weather promised some intense heat, and the course promised a very fast pace and a true test of fitness. Mom Jeff and I drove down to Farmington just in time for Jeff to get registered, and figure out the Mustang before hitting the line. Unfortunately three crashes and a flat tire forced Jeff to drop out of his first Cat II race...better luck next time.
As two o'clock started to roll around I got ready to head over to the start line, checking that I had bottles, tube, tools, etc. I got over to the start line and got in the second row of pro riders figuring that I had no right to be in the first row. (Mistake number one) When the whistle blew my handlebars got tangled up in the riders next to me so I was pretty much the last rider off the line, not exactly what I was hoping for.
After my rather dismal start I was able to pick off a few riders before the first single track section, and get myself into the pack. The first lap was extremely fast, and the top riders got away from the group I was riding with very easily. In the second lap I dropped the riders in the group I had been with for the first lap in hopes to catch more people. During the second and third laps I picked off some people that had fallen off of the front group, and was finally able to settle into a smooth rhythm.
The fourth and fifth laps were pretty much a blur, and not much happened, save for the last quarter mile. In this chunk of the last lap I was able to catch up with one last rider, and after clawing my way up to his wheel, we went down just before the line he broke one of the spokes in my wheel, and I bent his front rim a little.
Overall I felt comfortable (as comfortable as racing allows) and strong through the whole race, and finished in 13th place of 21 riders that started, and was 12 minutes off of the lead. Each race is going to be a true test of both fitness, bike handling skills, and tactics (which I need to work on a lot), and this season I will learn a lot!