The kiss of death in ANY sort of racing (RR, TT, Crit, even mtn bike) is a delayed clip-in. I learned this a while back and spent lots of time polishing my method. You have to be able to do it almost without thinking, because your mind gets all muddled when you're actually on the line with other racers. I did hit a point where I just couldn't get in first time every time. I swapped out my old SPD cleats for speedplays. Now I can clip in with the best of them. I would highly recommend these pedals.