Unfortunately that was the high point for me as, after a few fast laps of racing, I was mid-pack on the south end of the park as two riders came together and hit the deck. Erwin, my lone teammate in the field, was immediately caught up in it. I grabbed a fist full of brake but as I was skidding a rider to my right swung left and in doing so swept my front wheel. In a second I was on the deck. Almost as quickly I was back up - thinking of trying to chase - but as soon as I tried to grab my bars to remount and felt pain I thought better of it. Thankfully, while my five year streak of avoiding crashes was broken, no one was seriously injured in the pile-up and Erwin and I limped back toward the start/finish line. Erwin was determined to carry on for a few additional laps, but with my hand throbbing I accepted my DNF and grabbed my camera to take in the atmosphere at the finish line.