I just started riding seriously this last November when I did my first metric cen. On that ride my average spd. was 16.3 and since then I have been hooked on improvement and just recently I have been able to hang with the local Hammerheads. This last weekend I did another metric century and my average speed was 20.1. At what point and time is good to start figuring out what kind of rider I need to be for racing? Should I start training for specifically sprinting, or climbing, flats? You always hear people talk about the pros and the certain strengths they have in some areas and weaknesses in others. I know that there are alot of factors that fall into play and being well rounded is important, it may sound like a weird question but any help would be beneficial. Thanks.

you don't need to train your strengths, they will just appear. you need to train your weaknesses. Also I don't think many people "train" for riding in the flat. you train for climbing and sprinting. The rest will come. work on body composition at the same time. Start racing and see where you are deficient. then work on those.

When you say body composition, what should I be shooting for. Right now I'm 5'10" 184lbs @ 16% body fat.

The only way that you will learn what your weaknesses (limiters) are is to go out and race and see what they are. You then work on those. It could be climbing, sprinting, muscular endurance, power, etc. We do say someone is generally a sprinter or a climber but rarely both. Find out which one you are then work on the other aspects. Working on your weakness will make you better over all.

When to stary training all depends on when the important events of the year are. With that information you can better find out when to start training... rmember periodization.

Coastie. what I meant by body comp is just what you took it to mean. The more excess weight you carry around the harder all of your riding will be (with the exception of downhills). If you produce a specific watt range at your wieght, the fastest way to get faster is to lose weight. then your pushing less mass with the same watts. right? get out and ride alot with as many people as you can. Start racing, you'll quickly find out where you need improvement. start shooting for a bf% of %10 and see what happens.
Personally with riding alot. I have found that I have gained about 1mph per 10-15 lbs of weight loss. Some of that is due to lost bf and some is due to more watts produced through training.

Okay, sounds like I have some work to do. But one more question arrives, you talk about specific watt range, how am I able to determine what I'm at right now?

1. Weigh yourself + your bike clothes + your bike.
2. Time trial up a hill for at least 5-10 minutes.
3. Record the hill's average grade, and your average speed.
4. Plug those numbers into Analytic Cycling.