Originally Posted by
shovelhd
You're Cat3 or higher, right?
I think you're in a no lose situation. You are still recovering from injury which could be a factor. If you win or podium what a tremendous accomplishment that would be. Others may disagree but I found Nats to be the hardest most aggressive racing I have seen in my fields. The motivation for stripes is very high. The field is culled pretty early, so you end up racing against all the household names from around the country. It's crazy hard, but it shows you where you fit in at the National level. The run up in your training in July and August is obviously difficult physically but mentally I found it easy. Just think about the stripes. It's all about the stripes.
Good luck and have fun.
Thanks! I'm Cat 2. I haven't been injured, I've been a bit MIA from the forum because of life stuff. It's been a pretty good year on the bike so far, I did the state road race last month and took a short break after that but have been otherwise riding consistently. My challenge at Nats will be my inexperience. I just started racing this year, did my first crit in January. I've raced a lot but I realize I'm in way over my head with the household names and that caliber of rider. At the same time I love challenges like that. When you start bike racing at age 40...you don't have the luxury of slowly working your way up the ranks. Or at least, that's how I see it. I'm kind of an all or nothing person anyways lol. And if I do get there, I'll remember It's all about the stripes!
