Originally Posted by
igknighted
Usually the best bet is to start easier and shift when you start to spin out... otherwise you risk burning out your legs too early by mashing the hard gear. It varies some person to person though, so practice in all sorts of gears and see what gives you the best combination of acceleration and sustainability.
Agreed. Way too many riders think that they should be sprinting in the 53x11, and shift accordingly. Being overgeared for the sprint has cost a lot of riders a lot of wins over the years, though it's not quite as deadly a mistake as it was in the days of 5-speed freewheels and friction DT shifters... though I would also bet that it's a mistake that today's riders are far more likely to make, and keep making, than it was then.