hi.
juat been moved up a cat from a d to a c about 5 weeks ago. I was doing ok in d mid to top 3 in some races but since been moved up i am well off the back and finishing a 10k race 2 to 3 mins behind everyone else. its getting a bit demoralising having no 1 to ride with. not much fun. has anyone else had this happen
Hi Andy, I had the same last year, with persistence I was soon keeping up with groups and before long, contending with the front group.
I do recommend trying some of the 100km endurance rides on Sundays. Vikings Valhalla, 3R or LEQP are helpful… It was the building my base that made all the difference.
There’s a chance I could be a cat B at some point this year too, it’ll all start again!
You should race in open mass start races.
You will still get dropped by the C group but you will be able to see and ride with the D group.
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Somewhat depends on what part of your riding is strongest. If you are doing a 10k race the whole race is going to be threshold or above with very little rest, so if you’re at the bottom of the cat it’s going to be hard not to get dropped if those numbers are hard to hit for the duration of the race. It might be interesting to try a longer race to see if you can hide in the draft once the peleton settles down maybe?
Also, were you riding in the cat enforcement races? If not, it might be worth trying them out to see if it cuts out some of the sandbagging that might push honest riders out the back.
The idea about doing mass start races is also great.
I’m lower half of my cat, or mid-cat on a good day now (was absolute bottom, but made some improvements over the last few months), so what I’ve been doing is picking races where my power profile is slightly more advantageous (i.e. no very long hills given I weigh more than the average Zwifter - I tend to get dropped like a rock on climbs reliably). I tend to also do better on longer races where people tend to conserve their energy moreso than they would in a 10k race.