Gearing should fit the riders ability in order to maximize the power the rider is capable of producing. In other words, if I attempted a century on a bike with a 39/52 chained to a 11-21 cassette, I would have few gear choices in the flats without seriously crossing my chain or mashing and seriously lack a gear small enough to get me through the hills. Both of these things would affect efficiency, which in turn affects speed.

However, by using a 48/36/26 crankset and a 12-26 cassette, I have many more gear choices in the 17-19 mph range I generally ride when it's flat and calm, and some very easy gears for going up hills. Sure, there's no 53-11 combo to have me screaming down hills at 60mph, but I'm probably not capable of doing that anyway even if I had the gearing.

So for me, the touring setup is "faster" than the racer setup.