My point is that coming home from a ride and saying "I went 1mph faster than last time = I must be fitter" is pointless. Wind speed and direction, the wheels you use, your clothing, ambient temperature, there are a dozen factors that affect speed that have nothing to do with your fitness.
In a road race, why don't you see if you can hold the highest speed for the whole thing and see if you come first....
Yes of course speed matters if you're a time triallist in a race. Fastest avg speed wins. In RRing, not so much. Work at getting stronger and faster together, but don't get hung up on training speeds as a measure of improvement.
Fwiw I do better at road races where the avg speed is lower. Lower speed tends to mean harder courses, more climbs, smaller bunches. Any race where the bunch averages 25mph+ is one where I'll be mid-pack at best as that means bunch sprint. So speed matters to me in that I seek out tougher races with slower average speeds. But I certainly don't treat training speed with any importance.
In a road race, why don't you see if you can hold the highest speed for the whole thing and see if you come first....
Yes of course speed matters if you're a time triallist in a race. Fastest avg speed wins. In RRing, not so much. Work at getting stronger and faster together, but don't get hung up on training speeds as a measure of improvement.
Fwiw I do better at road races where the avg speed is lower. Lower speed tends to mean harder courses, more climbs, smaller bunches. Any race where the bunch averages 25mph+ is one where I'll be mid-pack at best as that means bunch sprint. So speed matters to me in that I seek out tougher races with slower average speeds. But I certainly don't treat training speed with any importance.