Originally Posted by
mikewaters
41 years old, never raced. Been back on bike about 14 months after 5 years off, and never fast before that. Total mileage in 14 months about 2200 miles. I know I'm nothing to brag about, but I'm wondering if I'm both physically ready and/or psychologically ready. It's actually more likely that I will try my first race on the track at the C level. I keep looking up local crit results in the Cat 5/C races, and seeing guys who are way better/faster than me (sandbaggers?). I'm 5'10", 190lb, so I know that improvement will rely on losing weight.
5s - 13.11 w/kg
20s - 11.63 w/kg
30s - 8.94 w/kg
1 min - 6.95 w/kg
5 min - 3.31 w/kg
20 min - 2.48 w/kg
Fitness matters, but crits are more about strategy and pacing than ftp. There's also no shame in finishing a cat 5 crit DFL. Pin on a number and go into it with the attitude that you are there to learn. Spend your first crit staying out of the wind, on someone's wheel, and holding your line.
Then spend the winter doing longer base rides and intervals and get ready to apply what you learned next spring.