Originally Posted by
furiousferret
The competitive part of me hates this post because its low key looking for affirmation from the veteran 123 racers. Part of what motivates me is the assumption that acceptance has to be earned and never will be if you remain a 4.
Granted this logic has backfired on me in the past when I played billiards for years, and the day I finally won a major tournament I lost all interest.
Personally I respect those who stick with the sport, even if they never upgrade at all. I get annoyed at the people that fly through categories and then quit racing after like two years (it happens).
To me, the respect part is about "the struggle" (lol if you can call it that.. not really but I think racers get what I mean), not how fast you are or which category your license says you are.
That being said, cycling has a much higher ceiling and it seems even if you're a Cat 1 you can still feel like you're on the bottom.
There's always a bigger fish out there, ready to swallow you up.
I bet the domestic elite guys who end up doing Tour of Utah & CO probably get yelled at and pushed around by the World Tour pros. (ok except for when they win, but still)