"It's not the bike, it's the rider".
It's the same in every sport. One can buy the most expensive custom-made golf clubs and 99.99% of the golfers out there still could not beat a top 100 pro golfer. Baseball bats, same deal. Tennis racket, same. Bikes, same.
You're better off riding with riders that are better than you and learn from them rather than spend $X,XXX,XX dollars for a new bike. If you spend $3,000.00 dollars for top-flight golf lessons, you'll play better than if you just go out and spend the same for new clubs.