Again: racers on bikes with Softride stems in the late '90's obliterated the rest of the field. It was only when suspension forks with significantly greater travel than the 1990's standard came along that forks became an obviously superior choice.

Edit: superior for racing on rough trails, that is. There is a good reason why various bike manufacturers have in recent years introduced front suspension designs for endurance and gravel bikes that do not incorporate the suspension in the fork legs. Non-fork front suspension, located in either the frame or the stem, may become commonplace on gravel bikes in the next few years.