Originally Posted by
southernfox
Yep.
Also...people are getting better at being more aero, I think.
It's not that they are getting better at it. Aero has become more important than pure/peak power, and equipment is changing to keep up with this.
It used to be that match sprints were always launched from a slow roll, and pure acceleration was how things were won. When you think of how to best position yourself for a standing start (Man 1 in the TS), it's going to be different than a position geared for top speed (Man 2/3 in the TS). Now sprints get launched from a much higher speed. You can thank Chris Hoy, Arnaud Tournant, and later, Theo Bos for that. Basically Kilo guys just started Kilo-ing their opponents in matches, and that's when things changed.
Sprints now are basically a drag race that starts at 40km/h. Spending more time at a higher speed, coupled with larger gears (which result in higher top speeds, and require more "roll" to get on top of) means one has to be conscious of how they are "burning their matches". Aero is more conducive to the tactics in play today.