Originally Posted by
AlmostTrick
Spin to win. If mashing was more efficient racers would do it.
Racers generally aren't built like the OP. A lot of this "one true way" mode of thinking comes from trying to emulate the strategies used by freaks of nature (professional racers' spinning abilities are many standard deviations from those of the average person) and people who may have been cheating.
I ride double centuries almost every weekend in the summer. Spinning a low gear is completely inefficient for me. I'm no racer, but I don't get passed a lot, and I fly by plenty of people spinning low gears.