Luca and Neff were an item last year when he was putting in those great qualifying runs, so I don't think that's it. He's still really young, so give him some time.
I think Neko likes beer a little too much. Yeah - Peaty got away with it back in the day, but didn't really start winning a lot until he put the pints down and started taking things more seriously. Plus, I've heard some inside "back in the day" rumors that Peaty wasn't quite the big drinker he's made out to be. And I get the impression the Windrock bike park in TN and race series Neko helps run also distract him from training like one needs to race at the podium level consistently.
In other news - the US had a female winner in the junior ranks, although mainly because Valli Holl crashed (and still finished 2nd). Hopefully she can continue to improve.
Gwin… damn... just a little off line, but like all of the best racers, he's not looking at his tires, but way ahead. Cathro has a plausible theory: