Originally Posted by TMonk

The bike skills discussion is interesting in the context of roadie racing. I'm just a cat 2 in SCNCA and even as a lighter rider (66 kg), my threshold w/kg numbers are nothing to write home about. I am good at over/under type efforts and at getting up the road with a few minutes of high power.

But I do have better bike handling and riding skills than most IMO. The physical handling doesn't come in to play so much in road racing, esp. compared to other disciplines like MTB and messenger racing. But it helps.

There is a lot of skill associated with going as fast as possible while using a minimum of energy. Physical nuances like chosing the best line, holding your body/shoulders a certain way depending on the wind and optimizing your cadence with course features can make it easier to hold speed. Mental nuances like knowing exactly how long and hard to pull, if/when you need to close a gap and when to pull the plug on an effort also make it easier to go fast. Some of these things come with experience, and to some degree their also innate in a rider's talent.