Identify the bottle necks on the first lap when you preride the course. That first sand pit, crazy off-camber...whatever, if the whole pack plugs up there then get off your bike early and run it. I've passed huge groups doing this.
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I'm not one for fawning over bicycles, but I do believe that our bikes communicate with us, and what this bike is saying is, "You're an idiot." BikeSnobNYC