Sounds like a tough race where I wouldn't last.
I did CCCX Ft Ord Circuit Race. Skipped the 2/3 race so as not to wake up at 7:30 and to be fresher than many in the 1/2/3 field. 19 of us, mostly cat 2. We had 5 in the race, me and one other fresh. Another team also had 5. A couple teams had 2.
I was feeling good about being fresh and wary of a repeat of a couple weeks ago when most of the 2nd race dudes got dropped. So I rode aggressively, following whenever someone covered an attack, trying to close gaps.
2 of 6 laps in I realize I'm doing too much work when, after covering some hard moves riding 30mph on a false flat tailwind, we hit the minute start finish climb and I crack. Luckily most everyone else cracked and eased up at the top and I spent a couple laps recovering. Anyway I have a teammate up the road with a guy from the other big team and the vegan cyclist. All that covering wasn't for naught.
Last lap we catch and drop vegan cyclist over the rollers. Only 2 up the road now. I contemplate attacking the rollers but when I hit the front one of the other big team also hits the front and grins at me. Lol.
So I lead down the final 44 mph descent. Big guy on big passes me and I chase, look back, gap but another big team guy is bridging up and I'm getting tired. Sure enough the other guy goes through and attacks, gets a gap at the final turn to the false flat tailwind section.
Group together, lookin at each other. Now that guy is gonna get 3rd if no one acts. One guy jumps, I follow, we get a small gap. Big team dude chasing to cover our move. When he catches I counter and start goin all out. Big team drops back but the last guy willing to chase, from one of the 2 man teams leads it out only a few seconds behind me. Too late for me, I already committed. So I hold the gap to the final climb and everyone sprints around.
Fun race overall, teammate got 2nd. But I seem to have left my legs at home cuz I was hurting waaay too much for a sub threshold NP. Probably should have taken it easier on the first couple laps though.