Originally Posted by
carpediemracing
+1 to a lot of what MDCatV says.
Ride more. Ride in groups.
At 260FTP and 77kg I placed regularly in Cat 3 crits (2005-2009).
At 260FTP and 70kg... that's 2-3kg lighter than I was when I got enough points to upgrade to Cat 2 (2010).
I can't climb (w/kg is the sucks), TT (FTP is the sucks), but I can be reasonably competitive in Cat 3 races at exactly what you have.
Therefore it's important to improve your tactical/savvy senses. Riding more, especially in groups, will help.
If you're stuck on a trainer or doing a lot of solo rides, doing steady work is best. It's basically all I do before the first races of the year and I seem to be okay in them. I train more in Jan/Feb than any other time of the year. I mainly race after that.
Good luck this coming season
cdr
Thanks for the last couple of posts. I have a tendency to go too hard too fast, so I really need to create a plan and stick to it. It's also encouraging that carpediemracing is cat 3 with my FTP and weight. However, I'm lacking in tactics and group riding experience. Also, since my focus is TT and HC, I still have threshold and weight loss improvements to make.