Cantua Creek Road Race part 2

I can't explain how much today surpassed my expectations.  As I said before I expected very little out of this race and I was more considering it a warm up race.  I only had one team mate (Russ) in it so we didn't come with much power to manage anything.  Bolthouse farms, another Bakersfield team,  showed up with about six Riders and clearly came into the event with a plan.   From the get go they showed their power.  For the whole first lap their entire team sat on front driving the pace.  At the beginning of the second (and last) lap they dropped back for a rest allowing two riders to get away in a breakaway.  Just before the last turn around point we caught the breakaway and bolthouse returned to the front and ratcheted the pace for the trip home. There was a few small attacks but nothing that lasted and more surges then I could count.  I think the winds and the tough finishing hill was looming in the back of everyones heads keeping them from considering an attack that would last.  At this point I got squeezed back and realized I was in the back......like DEAD LAST.  I took this time to do as my dad always taught me and dump all of the rest of my water bottles out lightening my load for the climb ahead and shaking my legs out to get them ready for the sprint.  At this point I was still hoping to finish in the top 20. In the last few miles I started to get nervous.  I was still in dead last and had been trying hard to find a route to improve my position.  With a narrow road it was too tight for me to squeeze past any riders.  Luckily at the first of the two punchy hills and with one kilometer to go the first attack/sprint happened.  Everyone scrambled to respond stretching out the peloten and opening up gaps for me too weave through.  At the top of the first climb I had made up serious ground and was able to continue my momentum over the 2nd hill and pass a few more guys for a 6th place finish.  Much higher placement then I could have imagined.  I've really been focusing on staying calm during races and evaluating what is going on and I feel I achieved that at cantua.