I used to ride with John and the "wild bunch" on the Saturday morning training races back when he had his shop (Racing Research) in Shreveport, LA. Although he was always big on optimizing power output/speed via a more aggressive/aerodynamic riding position, he told me that he once rode a mountain bike wearing a sombrero (in a road race?) and threw peanuts at the other riders. John said that to win a bike race you had to finish, and to finish you had to be comfortable on the bike. For some riders that equates to a larger frame.