-
plus a fair amount of luck, at least in that particular race.
but yeah, part of racing is the obsessing over equipment, some do it to get a bit quicker. I've definitely plateaued (and coming down the other side) in terms of speed but still enjoy "designing" a bike that will allow me to be reasonably competitive, get me through muddy races on a single bike and not end up blowing all my salary on it.
Waves to 10%!
No I was just being overly mean, I'm sure tyre choice helps with placing but it's really the legs and tekkers isn't it