Hello! I wanted to share this, since i was skeptical about joining a race with my Domane AL2 and competing with other people with more advanced bikes I Hope these few lines will motivate somebody to try as well. In the end, i ended up last, but i had a really fun experience. And the main factors that left me behind were fitness and technique, on the contrary the bike handled the event without a problem. I was afraid, the claris groupset could not compete with all the 105 and above, obviously a couple gears more and less weight would help you a lot, but if you are in doubt of joining a race with my same bike, i reccommend you to try, you will have one of the best cycling experiences. Just make sure to have a good helmet, good quality tires and a rear light!
by Honest-Milk2443