well I raced part of the year with a cheapo univega hybrid frame I built up into a CX bike, weighed 30lbs and I more recently got a new Raleigh rx 1.0, with maybe weighs 21 or so. I wish I could say it made a huge difference in my placing, but no, the bike couldn't help my lack of race fitness lol
That said, things I do appreciate: 11 speed vs 8 speed, lighter for carrying/climbing, chain catcher (dropped my chain once with the hybrid), more comfortable geometry. With my recent improvements in overall fitness and then maybe a year where I can actually work on race specific fitness hopefully I can be way more competitive.