3-5  (Fullgame)

First and foremost, do not lightdash at all (unless you're starting out) because it is very slow!

Follow the ring trails by boosting and aiming towards the rings.
If you do this, you will have more than enough rings to guarantee clearing that goal.

Sidestep only when there are sharp turns, because otherwise trying to optimize this stage sucks ass because of the ring requirement.

During these sharp turn sidesteps, hold the stick right/left depending on which direction you're going in, because sidestepping against walls is faster.

If you ever accidentally go over a drift panel, hold neutral to end drifting, but generally avoiding them is the best.
It's not the end of the world if you go over one, because this stage just hates you just as much we hate it.

Stomp after you jump over each drift panel to regain control faster.

The last spiral thingy sucks, and it's the only part where sidestepping only kind of matters, so just sidestep left until the first curve is about to end, and then boost jump over the drift and speed pads, and then sidestep right.

BONUS: you can spam boost at the start to save frames, but it's not worth it unless you like spamming :D