Depends on the courses you are on and the areas you train. The are I live the courses are sometimes hilly and its also usually windy due to the close proximity to the ocean, so I run a Compact (50/39) with a 12-25 rear cassette. I find it gives me the gearing I need for most situations, I only lose the top-top end gearing for the downhills, but theres really only one part of one event that I run out of gear.