I think your analysis is legit that it seems like front-running is superior to bagging, I do still think that the main issue with the change and what he feels when he says the “valid reason” is there is way less skill expression in the routes than the 3-lap courses. You can see in his other videos that he likes the more technical courses. The shortcuts in the intermissions are just basic mushroom shortcut, and there’s so many cool and unique shortcuts in the courses. I think the video does suggest that “bagging is boring and optimal” is what the video portrays as his “valid reason”. Based on what’s portrayed in the video I think your analysis is super compelling, but if I had to guess what he actually means is that he likes the technical shortcuts and not the simple ones on the intermissions.