Taking the macro view, the US is not competitive in intl track competition basically at all except for the anomaly of Sarah Hammer. I think Jaytron's coach is basically of the opinion tha this is not a good system and might stand a re-think. I tend to agree. Now I know there's all kinds of reasons for the lack of intl success, but offering a wider range of racing for riders of different dispositions and focus probably couldn't hurt. Maybe worth a try? I'm not saying people shouldn't do mass start. I agree that it's essential for learning bike handling and pack riding skill and these do come in handy even in sprint events. But maybe after you get the cat 3 upgrade it would be possible to "specialize" a little?