I think it's intimidating for the prospective As when they've got world-class athletes to compete with. But look at Bev Chaney. She just blows everyone away most races. She races expert or pro mtn bike and definitely belongs in the As. There are some other Bs who I think should be racing As as well. Heck, if I were faster I'd welcome the opportunity to get spanked by you girls. Maybe in a year or two when my fitness is completely back. If Sheila can do it, I can do it.

It's a dangerous trickledown. The Bs who should be As don't upgrade, so the Cs who should be Bs don't upgrade which just makes it tough on the truly beginner Cs. That's why I finally stopped racing Cs this year, even though I wasn't winning races last season. I'm not a beginner and the beginners truly deserve the opportunity to race against each other. And it's frustrating racing with the Cs as well (you gotta get through the crashes and there are always some super-fit genetic freaks who will win their first race).

But I guess until we've got more women there's not a lot we can do to improve it.

Or, until USAC institutes mandatory upgrades. But, as Casey would say, there's no such thing as a mandatory upgrade. And even so, it would take at least 5 wins to get that many points, which for some racers, is all they race in a season.