It is technique. However, many crit racers use Speed Plays due to the double side. At our training camp a couple of weeks ago, each start from the traffic lights felt like a standing start at the track and I typically hit 700 watts of power. To keep up, one had to cleat in the first pedal revolution. The guys who can really do this never miss the cleat in and we had all different types of pedal systems. If one could not get clipped in immediately, they were faced with a big acceleration to close a gap and lost position in the paceline. Welcome to the fast lane.