I'm getting bored of including 'cyclocross' in the title

On Saturday, a good friend of mine began his season, which I had mixed feels about. Based on last season's experiences I preparing to be dropped, lapped, and then smeared in the sand pit by his rear tire. I was luckily able to stay with him for the entire race, which was this time in Bozeman. The course included two sand sections, a set of barriers, and numerous twisty, winding areas. I was within thirty seconds of hopefully sprinting out from behind and taking the victory when I crashed on the second sand section, a 250-300 foot beach. My friend managed to get away, and I settled for 2nd.

On the second day of the race, the course was reversed and a fly over with stairs up and a steep ramp down was added. I wasn't as close to my friend/now rival, but still finished 33 seconds back for another 2nd.