Originally Posted by msu2001la

100% agree. The cost of entry into bike racing is too high, and is definitely a barrier for many.

I'm sure someone will say the bike doesn't matter, the athlete does. Just get out there and race on whatever you've got, etc. I get it, you can race on anything, but equipment starts to change the game pretty quickly in bike racing. If you're giving up 20-30 watts to the person next to you just because you didn't want to, or don't have an extra $2k to buy the latest wiz bang aero whatever, you're basically resigned to a lower level of competition. This becomes especially apparent for junior racers.