If there is one thing I learnt from the virtual races it's that I have been underestimating the impact of (tactics and) technique on road racing. Technique, mostly. Sometimes it looks like you don't need much more than the physiology to be a great cyclist - with everyone talking about watts per kilogram and lung volume. Roglic just jumps from jumping to riding, Evenepoel gives up competetive football and whoosh, competes with the best cyclists - it's not like other sports where you have to start training seriously before you are 10 years old, otherwise you don't stand a chance to ever be the best. But then top ski-jumpers and football players have really, really good coordination, reaction times and balance (often underestimated in football players). Those are things you don't need much in the virtual races/ challenges (I am not looking at the differences in the length and way of effort now). It's something you often only talk about like it's a surplus in cycling (oh, and he's also got great style...). But obviously it's decisive, too.
I have also been surprised by the Australian and South-African riders in the virtual races and have been thinking that all this talk how European riders have an advantage because they are more used to riding on narrow roads in the pack must be true.
Okay, maybe that was not even your topic. It's just something I wanted to say. And god, it's tough, my English is so stiff.