tehpr3chr said:
aggressiveness is very important imo...i'm 22 right now, and i go out with an attitude that there are gonna be guys out there better than me, but if i'm a more aggressive rider, while still respecting the other riders, i can find this hole and that to move myself up!
Word.
I've been racing Pro 1-2 since I was junior. I'm 42 and mostly race Pro 1-2 locally, masters anywhere where I don't know the players. My first sports were basketball and football, two sports where aggression is key to success.
(Sidebar: Mom talked me out of football after I broke my leg -- I'm 6'2", 162lb, probably 150lb in high school. I still play basketball and did all through high school. Ran xc in the fall.)
Anyway, I ride with guys loaded down with equipment like power taps, HR monitors, altitude tents, they're counting calories, the hours they sleep, they don't drink, they don't smoke, they hire coaches, they weigh their food, but when they get in competitive situations they crack like match sticks because they just can't bring it. It's like all that tech stuff is nothing without knowing how to bring "it." I see them after a race and not only did they not make the break they didn't even see it go off.
Now, I'm not capping on people who use all that bling (okay, I called it bling so I'm capping a little bit), but you've got to learn how to bring it too. I learned it from playing football and basketball and didn't give it a second thought when I started doing the same thing on the bike.
About getting to the p1-2 level, give it three years, then expect the improvements to slow. If you're not close in three, it's probably not going to happen. If you're close, your slow gains will get you there, likely another two years.
It's worth it. I've been racing for 25 years, probably got 700 races in me, and I never get tired of lining up with the pros. Especially a night time crit.