Robert Hughes

I regret that my post came across as "sour grapes", and I never mentioned sandbagging. The person you refer to did nothing wrong, he couldn't compete in a different category because the current upgrade rules prevented him from using his TT results to upgrade. This is as it should be because pack racing requires skills and experience that cannot be obtained by racing in time trials. My observation is this: since TT results have no bearing on road race upgrades (as it should be), why should we use road race categories to describe the competitive level of a time trialist? Road race, track, mountain bike, and 'cross categories are designed to encourage competition and to create races where riders are relatively evenly matched on experience and fitness. Why not have the same for the time trials? Using road categories for the TT is just slightly better than arbitrariness.

Furthermore, why is it that whenever someone examines the status quo, the vast majority of responses are either sarcastic or belittle the post or author. Is there a better way to categorize the TT? Maybe no category is the answer. It such a different form of racing with completely unique equipment, perhaps it should be categorized separately from road racing, like 'cross or track.