Originally Posted by ken cummings
Just build up your legs. I have seen a racer go up a 35% grade with a 53/27. That was Fargo Street in LA and it was OK to do switchbacks.
But at Fargo, the time doesn't really matter, right? It probably was more a point of pride to be able to climb it in the big ring than it was a point of efficiency.
In a race, on the other hand, time/speed presumably does matter. I assume the racer could have been faster in a more appropriate gear.