i am guessing by the amount of layoff in between that you might be older (i am 23 so older to me means older than 25, so don't freak out). nothing wrong with that. it seems to me that the older you get, the more time you need to knock off the cobwebs for sprinting and the less time to regain the endurance aspect of cycling. it seems like whenever i start the season, the older guys that i ride with are able to put in much longer rides than i can, but i have a slight edge in sprinting. compare that to the end of the season, where they can beat me at sprints AND ride longer. that being said, i wouldn't sweat the race at all. you are probably doing a lot of base miles and not too much interval/vo2 max workouts yet (both of which were probably being taxed on the final climb.) furthermore, it is only the first week of april. good luck next week! keep us posted!