shovelhd raced for the first time in 26 years in March. he's mixing it up in the M45s and last week was around for the P123 finish. he's a member here on BF.
OP - you're smart. Figure out why you're getting dropped. Hills? You not "schleck-like" in build? You were a 3, meaning you placed top 3 in 3 or top 6 in 6, which is how upgrading worked around then. How did you place, like what races, what terrain, what kinds of fields.
I know my strengths and weaknesses, and although I haven't taken 25 years off, I did gain 50+ pounds in a couple years. It took some self discovery and learning new things to get back to where I was.