Training hours per week - 4th/3rd cat riders?
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Right now, my training plan calls for a minimum of 9 hours and a maximum of 15 hours per week in the off season. That includes up to three trips to the Gym when I can on Mon, Wed and Fri. I am a Cat 4 and I also race Master's. My Master's age bracket typically includes Cat 3's and over 50 Cat 2's. Master's field is typically faster than the Cat 4 races.
What I have found is it is best to follow wheels and stay near the front. There is a flow to the peloton generally moving up on the outside and back on the inside although you can move up on the inside, generally the peloton follows the pattern I mentioned. I don't know if TT times mean as much as your pursuit abilities and the course terrain as far as being able to hang with the pack and being able to be there at the end for a top 10 or even the win. A good TTist on flat ground might get dropped on a hilly course or even rolling course if he or she does not conserve energy and position themselves well in the pack.
One of the best pieces of advice I got was to just follow a more experienced rider in a race and stick to their wheel as much as possible to watch how they read and react to a race. Luckily, they were teammates so it made it even easier for me to follow their wheels. I still practice this tip a lot in the Master's races.0
