Originally Posted by
link0
Well in a crit, you'll be drafting 90% of the time, so it's easier (but obviously not easy) to maintain high speeds.
Even crit 5 racers will be stronger than almost all casual riders. They can maintain 21+mph without drafting for long periods of time. There is no shame in not being as fast as them.
Even faster than that, one of my cat 4/5 crits was 26+ mph average. 98% in the draft.