I'm a bit confused by those of you who seem to be implying that you shift down and pedal at a cadence higher than the lead rider. If you assume that the lead rider is pedaling at an efficient cadence for the speed, shifting down usually see's me spinning like a squirrel against little to no resistance and finding it hard to maintain a smooth spin. Given the reduction in wind resistance and required power, I find it much easier to maintain the same gear or shift up one and maintain a 'slightly' lower cadence than the lead rider. That's not to say that I'm grinding. I'm probably still in the 80-90 range. But, this seems to feel far more efficient than spinning at high 90's to 100+ when I'm supposed to be recovering for my next turn.