Originally Posted by
Doge
The track guys forum says stay a 4 and learn to race. It required a USAC request to get junior out of cat 5 to get him to cat 4. Nevermind he can lap a field of 2s, and likely lap Cat 1s. It is discouraging to them (those competitors) - and him. At age 20, with 10+ years of racing, nothing is particularly unusual about his development, just that USAC makes it hard to race against like ability, so he goes skiing. I care, he doesn't. Allow him to compete in nats, I'm fairly confident he would do well, make him work his way through the ranks - he'll keep skiing.
You're missing the point from the track forum discussion. He is saying that just because you are a 1 on the road doesn't mean you should be inserted into a Cat 1/2 race on the track. The dynamics of a track race are quite different from road, and given the speeds and banking on the track there is a substantial risk of injury in a crash. The point was for Puppy to go spend time in the lower category races to learn how to race safely on the track then to move up to where his strength is competitive. It was also noted that Puppy should not spend his time lapping the field in the lower races but stay in the field and learn how to race in it.
The ability to pedal hard and go fast does not mean one has the skill or experience to race in a pack - this goes for triathletes moving into road racing or road racers moving into track. There is less concern with road/track to cross or MTB because of the nature and dynamics of the races.