Before I moved to Oregon I raced in the NCNCA (Nor Cal/NV). The 35+
1/2/3 category was always the category to watch (or race), sometimes
better racing than the P/1/2. One year when I was still 34 I tried to
fudge my age to USAC so I could race 35+ because the racing in the 3's
was so bad down there. Any given crit you show up to there's 80 guys
that would try to barge their way to the front for no good reason.
Made for some dangerous racing. OBRA is much better in this regard.

I'm echoing the thinking that most guys over 35 have other commitments
besides training. Make it a 1/2/3 category and you know you have some
fairly seasoned riders. The 4/5's can cut their teeth elsewhere. I
think 40 is a little too old a cutoff, regardless of what they do in
running races. Not that the racing is any less competitive over 40, I
just think that by throwing in some more "young bucks" the racing
would get that much better and open the door for a lot of guys that
would like to race Masters.