"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - How fast do I need to go?

Here's some background. I am a triathlete with 3 (4 after this weekend) triathlons under my belt. I am a mediocre swimmer and it hurts when I run... but as for the bike, I really like it. In my most recent race, my bike time was 17th out of 350+ participants.

Now I know that triathlon cycling is different from Criterium, Road Racing and time trialing, but is closest to time trialing.

I have a pretty good bike (Giant TCR2) with aerobars, but I don't have aero wheels or an aero helmet. These items aren't cheap if you're only going to use them every now and then.

My current average MPH on the bike is around 22.5 MPH racing time. During workouts I average 20-21 MPH.

Q: Is it possible to be competitive in time trial racing without aero wheels and an aero helmet? How much faster can I go by improving my overall fitness and "cycling-specific" musculature?

Also, what speeds are do racers average in Criteriums, Road Races and Time Trials?

Should I look into this sport seriously?

What CAT level should I start out in?

I started another discussion similar to this a while back and got a lot of really good feedback. Now that I've checked into some races, I'm trying to figure out what the next steps are. A lot of the races don't list timings in the race results.

Thanks!

Originally posted by Aerow
Q: Is it possible to be competitive in time trial racing without aero wheels and an aero helmet? How much faster can I go by improving my overall fitness and "cycling-specific" musculature?

Also, what speeds are do racers average in Criteriums, Road Races and Time Trials?

Should I look into this sport seriously?

What CAT level should I start out in?


Of course it's possible to be competitive without the high tech gear! Training and determination come way before the equipment you buy. And, anyway, make sure you really like this racing before you go paying big money for special equipment.

As for speeds, search the site, here. There have been many disscussions on this topic. In essence though, there isn't a real way to tell what speed you need to be. Just get in there and try it out! :)

Look into racing seriously if you try it out, and you like it. You don't have to have sucess at first. Cycling is a very hard sport to excel at when first starting.

All men start out in Cat. 5. Also, search the site on this topic. This has been discussed in great length. I'd suggest trying a couple Cat. 5 races out, and then move to a 4 as quickly as possible. You don't want to be sticking around in a field where your risk of crashing is very high, and where you could catch on to bad habits quickly, also.

first i'd lose the aerobars. you want good handling and you can't race with them, so....
but you seem pretty strong and would probably enjoy the competition of bike racing.

Originally posted by RiPHRaPH
first i'd lose the aerobars. you want good handling and you can't race with them, so....

Right, if you're planning on doing a time trial, like you said, then you can keep the bars on. But, if you're going to try a different type of race, (road race, crit) then you need to get regular drop bars.