+1

Long rides, esp for "newer" (say less than 10 years racing) riders, help build and enforce form. It also gives you a broader foundation for your form/fitness through the year. I don't enter races that last much more than an hour but I regularly do, as part of base stuff, 4-5-6 hour rides.

Don't break them up either. The 5th hour of a ride is very different from the 5th hour riding of the day.

Mind you I don't do the long rides once the season starts unless there's some fluke thing (I did a century with my teammate this summer). But in Jan/Feb, SoCal, I'm disappointed if I don't do a few 3-4 hour rides and a couple 5-6 hour rides (during a 10-12 day training trip).

cdr