There have been multiple times when Remco seems to prefer a high gear where I think he would benefit from a lower gear. That struggle in Valancia was a prime example. He was basically pushing at stall torque for a while. Moving to lower gear would likely result in more overall power and as such a higher average speed, even if he can't react to accelerations of the mountain goats that much. He doesn't need to copy Froome or Armstrong but working a bit more with his cardio-engine would benefit him.