Originally Posted by
robertorolfo
What difference does it make? If you can't keep up with the leaders, you can't keep up with the leaders.
I'm still fairly new to this sport, but I'm getting the impression that for a lot of guys (and gals) this is simply a test of physical endurance and prowess that happens to take place on a bike, as if actual the bike riding is secondary or practically non-consequential to them.
Bike riding and handling skills should matter. It's like Lance Armstrong complaining that a fast descender is getting an unfair advantage, which makes no sense to me. If you only care about fitness and watts, why not just become a runner or do "crossfit games" or something?
There's a learning curve that takes place with this stuff. For example, as the race went on, I became more comfortable with the turns at speed, thus when lapped I could stay on and even do a little bit of animation. Of course it also helped that the former pro and current state crit champion (40+) and the reigning winner of the cat 1 Tulsa Tough were off the front. That may also explain why I was able to stay on.
Racing is not just about fitness. It's about technical skills, and most importantly the mental game of knowing what to do what and when.
My prior point is that many people once dropped, if they catch back on when the guys come around again, they will soon be dropped again. In my case, when I was dropped, I was still riding pretty hard. I didn't just completely sit up and rest.