In the articles conclusion:
When the chainline is almost straight, the drive efficiency is within 1-watt between 1X and 2X drivetrains, resulting in the 1X drivetrain being 0.2% slower. This translates to a 25 second time penalty over 100km if using the 1X drivetrain.
A perfectly straight chainline is the same configuration as ideal single-speed.
There is just so many factors to keeping up with the young'uns that losses from a straight chainline at a power most enthusjastic cyclists aspire to reach are insignificant. ½ second per mile. Really?
How does your leg muscles make power? Nutrition, fitness, fatigue? Are your chain rings round or oval? What kind of oval? How round is your pedal stroke? What is your cadence? what diameter is your rings/cogs to get the same ratio? Did you wear your tight fitting jersey today? Aero much? Are
you aero? (& by that I mean: Not shaped like a barrel, are you?) Is your bike equipped with TT bars? Do you use them? Are you practised/acclimatized enough to turn good power while in them? To put it on perspective: Urban legend has it that a single inch of exposed cable housing is about a watt at 25mph. How's your rolling resistance? Any of these thing can combine to be 30, 40, 60 watts or more difference at 25mph.
You can chase all of these things. In the end a single watt of drivetrain is not the reason the kids are faster.