One major thing about FTP tests is that the more you do them the better you are at the actual test. It's sort of like taking the SATs (or whatever they do now). When I took my first practice exam some of the question formats were totally new to me. I had to read them really carefully, figure out what they were asking, and then go look for the answer. After a few weeks of practice exams the weird questions were normal and I could breeze through them like a normal-to-me question.

With FTP type efforts it's hard to gauge pace etc, at least for me. You also figure out how to warm up better, how hard you can go, food stuff, etc. I don't do many FTP tests and I tend to start too hard, I tend to warm up too much, and I usually have eaten at the wrong time. I figured out some of that now so my tests have gotten more consistent and a bit higher.

Based on my average wattages in hour long crits, along with how I do or feel, I think the FTP number I got from testing is about right - 210-220w. In crits if I average 160-170w then I'm in pretty good shape going into the finale. If I average 180-190w it is a very special race for me and if I can sprint then it means I'm very fit and very motivated. At 200w I normally can't sprint and in fact I'm usually blown with a lap or so to go. At 250w average I'm usually out of the race by halfway. There were races where I was out in a few minutes and averaged 300-350w for those few minutes.

My FTP comes out to about 2.8 w/kg. However I present a pretty low profile to the wind so in a flatter race it's not quite as bad as it might seem. I am usually the first person to get dropped on hills, on group rides and definitely in races (among the first 5 or 10 to get dropped in a field of 125 or so). I also TT pretty poorly, usually in the last 3 or so if I'm doing a Cat 3 stage race with 125 starters, for example. Those two types of races rely on FTP for most of your performance potential so not being able to go harder than, say, 210w for an hour will really sour your chances of doing well in an hour long TT.

I upgraded to Cat 2 at the end of 2010 based on about 3.0 w/kg and a number of good performances in crits. I was racing Cat 3 for forever before that (1986-2010), competitively in particular races or seasons. A year later, at the end of 2011, I downgraded back to a 3. I think that's more the category appropriate for me - I have a very hard time placing in the 3s now.

For you I'd recommend working on FTP but also doing as many races as possible. When I first started racing I was absolutely shocked at the speed of the races. In my first year I only finished one race, and that one I was so out of it I was racing corner to corner, hoping I'd make it to the next corner. I got used to that high end stuff that you need to do to stay in races, I learned the hard way about never, ever letting a gap open when the pace is high, about the absolute focus necessary to keep on the wheels in front of you. 10 or 15 feet and that was the end of my race. It's a hard way to learn but I learned it, and now it's second nature. There's tactics and stuff but even the smarter riders, if inexperienced, tend to downplay the significance of the basics like not leaving gaps in front of them. Racing is a great way to really allow you to focus on things like that - you don't have to worry about traffic, you are in a race with peers, allowing you to focus on just the racing aspect of things.

Also I'd focus on improving your position for more leverage and better aero. The two almost always work together for a newer rider because a newer rider doesn't have the massive base miles and corresponding muscular development of an experienced rider. For example most new riders have a more upright position because that's what a normal person can do when they get on a bike. As the rider develops and becomes stronger, more fit for cycling, etc, the position morphs into a longer, lower position. Pros are an extreme version of that - their office is their bike and if they aren't comfy riding for 6 or 8 hours at a time they wouldn't be in that position. However pros typically have pretty aggressive positions. It's a result of their body developing the base necessary for that position, the lower back, the glutes, etc.

The key here is that the lower position allows you to recruit more muscles for pedaling. When you go up a hill you lean forward instinctively. No one tries to sit straight upright, like a 3 speed bike. Everyone, even those on 3 speeds, leans forward. Their body is trying to recruit the powerful glute muscles. Pros and more experienced riders have ridden enough to develop a solid core/base so they feel more comfortable leaned over, and as a benefit they also have much more muscle at their disposal.

As a side effect you'll notice your power going up when you adapt such a position.

A friend and teammate asked me to critique his position after a couple years of racing. He was professionally fit at a respected shop but after a couple years his needs were very different. We really changed his position wholesale, dropping his bars a couple cm, getting a 2 cm longer stem, and jacking up his saddle I think about 2 cm. He immediately placed better in the next four races in three weeks and change - it wasn't a change in fitness but it was a change in position that allowed him to take advantage of the fitness he had gained. Such a radical position change wouldn't have worked at the beginning because he wasn't fit, relatively speaking, but as a strongish Cat 4 he needed up to update his position to match his change in fitness.