I ride into work slow so I can warm up a bit. (I courier and sometimes do pedicab work) He was also fairly fast as long as there was no traffic to negotiate. Also, he caught me on an uphill which I was taking slow(again just warming up) and in a very low gear. He was hammering. He was moving fast and I just decided to let him pass figuring at the rate he's moving I wont get stuck behind him again. But sure enough, at the top of the hill he was track standing in between traffic. I tried to go around him but right then he started moving again. It was pretty frustrating. I just backed off, told myself work hasn't started yet and I'm in no rush. I used to ride fixed, and would still if I had a fixed gear bike, I just don't at the moment.
Seriously, there was no "skills" to be seen here. I did say he seemed like a strong enough rider right from the beginning.