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Old 05-01-08, 01:02 PM
  #18  
Duke of Kent
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Blacksburg, VA
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Bikes: Yeti ASRc, Focus Raven 29er, Flyxii FR316

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Originally Posted by Justino
As a person who quickly went through the lower categories as well, I would advise you to bide your time in Cat 3 for a little longer. The jump from 3 to 2 is much bigger than any of the others. I thought that, if I were to continue my growth and improvement as a cayclist, I need to upgrade sooner rather than later. I was a top 10 rider in the 3's for most of the season and Pro,1,2 was a rude awakening to say the least. It really killed me, physically and mentally. I never should have upgraded so quickly.

Just my experience...
+1.

I went from the 3s to the 2s at the end of the last season, and am ramping up my 2008 campaign. To avoid the 3-->2 "shellshock" I've kept my racing to a minimum so far this year, and have been building my body up slowly to meet the demands of Pro/1/2 racing. For example, today will be my third 3hr ride in a row, 1.5 of which will be a moderately fast group ride. Lots of hard tempo, lots of intervals, and LOTS of food/sleep/recovery. I'm going to gradually build up my racing schedule, with the peak being the middle of July to early August, with racing two or three days in row pretty much every weekend during that stretch.

I don't think being podium material is realistic for me this year given my strengths and the courses/racing around here, but I'm going to bust my ass to help my team out in whatever manner I can, and maybe pull a result or two in of my own. I know I'm going to end up being pack fodder a lot of the time this year, but if I can do some good work for my friends and teammates, and learn a lot along the way, I'm fine with that.
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