I am planning on racing the Utah CX series in its entirety this fall. I raced a few races last year in that series as a 45+ ( I am 47) and that group is an open category with 2 former national champions and so the race was more of a solo TT. I could race the 35+B (cat 3, 4, 5) and then I could actually have races within races and work on tactics and race in traffic. I have raced that category once before with one 2nd place finish. I am not sure what grouping I should consider. Are there other factors I am not thinking about that would make the series fun, competitive, and support improvements in skill?
Could you go back and forth between the two groups?
I believe in riding with people who are stronger than you will make you faster. You definitely need to be on the gas though for that to work and mentally positive knowing you’re going to have to really fight!
For the 35+B group, this sounds like a good option too. Especially having to fight the group during the race instead of solo.
If you work on your bike skills during practice they should come in handy to whichever group you choose to race against - more time to focus on going instead of thinking, “how do I do this?” during the race.
I don’t think you can make a bad decision here. If you’re prepared go for the harder group!