Originally Posted by
Hammonjj
In Colorado, nearly every race runs a combined P12 field. Most of the Cat 1's that I know have gotten their upgrades out of state for this very reason.
It's tough showing up to a race as a fresh Cat 2 and lining up against people that get paid to ride their bikes.
I actually know of quite a few people (including myself) who put the fact that they earned their cat 1 points in colorado, in real races, on their race resume.
It's true that many go elsewhere, it's certainly easier than trying to get points when there are half a dozen international caliber guys at most front range races, taking up most of the points spots. I got mine in a couple lucky breaks, a few cat 2 only races, and a few no-chain days. In other words, a pretty lucky season.
You may not necessarily have to leave CO though. Look for races on the western slope. The real issue is just all the Garmin/FlyV/Jelly Belly/etc guys living in Boulder. They won't do local stuff if it's not super close.