In Reply To:
I get that. You are obviously a physical beast. Damn I wish I was that tall.
That height / weight / body fat puts you in a category that I have not seen much of at the races that I have done. A lot of the bigger guys/gals that I have seen could get under the cutoff with the loss of some blubber.
Myself at 5'10" 175, I can't compete with the fast, skinny guys either. Could I get that slim? Maybe, but I like a little muscle.
I also can't compete with the guys that ran track / cross country / swam in HS or college. I've only been on a bike for 3 years and I can't hang with the guys that have been cycling forever.
But, I don't ask for a different category so I can compete with people that have the same top end speed as me. I feel like the AG categories should be enough.
(DJCIII - this is not meant directly at you, just my general feelings. I wouldn't want to piss someone off that could pick me up and rock me like a baby - Haha)
There I am, in all my glory...getting ready to have my a$$ handed to me on the run leg of Memphis in May.
Anyway, I understand the frustration. Of course I train with guys that are all smaller than me and don't have a chance to make it up to clydesdale. They are fast, faster than me...but I know they will probably never podium in a race. There are just too many guys that are faster than them. I certainly don't podium at every race but I have a much better shot than they do at just about every race where I toe the line. I get that frustration. Every once in a while we clydesdales have to deal with it too. It is funny when you see another clydesdale on the course that is 201 and just beefed up a bit to get out of the AG. I will admit, I try to race AG when I feel I have a chance to place well at a particular race. However, at races that do not lend themselves to my size (hilly and/or hot) I just accept that I need to be in clydesdale.