Originally Posted by rubiksoval

I don't really get some of your made-up terms. "Backdoor"? "Select ahead"?

Training is not racing. Training rides are not races. If you just wanted to sit on the back of a group, you'd be better off doing a solo workout. Attack, get brought back, get stuck in, attack again. Do stuff you wouldn't want to do in a race because it probably wouldn't work. Because a training ride is not a race. It's a workout. Go do workout stuff. Sprint. Jump early, attack late, whatever. Get in an actual workout. The idea of being outnumbered or a team controlling things is a weird thing to read about, honestly. Again, training ride. Attack or drill it or something that will actually force you to do something new.

The only one that cares about you being a cat 5 is you. You got to move past that. Shouldn't have anything to do with anything if you're riding safely and predictably.