KTM 1st Gear Start in Denver

I saw that too must have been really short start?

It was a long start

stock 450's will do like 40mph in 1st gear, 2nd gear start would primarily be to reduce wheel spin. 

Considering the elevation then 1st gear start seems within reason.
 

I seem to recall J Cooper mentioning he meant to start in first but clicked second out of habit and that screwed up his start.

Unless they are doing something weird with gearing, there is no way 1st is needed on a 450. It isn’t that big of a difference. Started in 2nd on 250 and open 2Ts in the early 80s. Worked great. 

They mentioned the elevation being the reason 

I think most were starting in 1st gear there. The elevation and the hookup they get from the metal grate was why.

JCoop mentioned accidentally clicking up to 2nd, implying the majority were using 1st.  

Typically Every time you shift it reduces forward drive a tiny amount of time so that means a foot or two in the pack.

Back in my 500 smoker days I learned to do 3rd gear starts and that made a huge difference.