Originally Posted by Psimet2001

HAHAHA - nah it's not very deep. Just mainly discusses the perpetual problem of racing as a 4. You are always in a field with riders who will be a 2 or 1 at some point. When racing as a P/1/2 you are in an evenly matched field (take teams out of it). In other words under the current system 4's who are "forever 4's" will always be racing with people who are far too talented to race as a 4. It's the nature of being a 4. They never get to race with just a field of "4's" from a talent standpoint. It's why a lot of new racers leave the sport for good and why a lot of racers who used to race just won't come back.

I posit the possibility that maybe having a "lateral category" that riders can request to be placed in might solve this. Call it a cat F. You can't earn upgrade points in it. It's not meant for those looking to move up. It's for riders that know how to race (not 5's) but have no real talent or ability to progress. Gives them a field to race with that is more fun. Same idea behind what created the masters fields back in the day - only they used age as a qualifier.