Jr. Nationals Road Race- Davis Bentley

I'm posting this unedited race write-up for 15 year old teammate Davis Bentley. His original e-mail to our team was titled "next year" and as you read this post you will know why. Cheers, Larry
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When we finally started the Jr. 15-16 road race at 9:00 a.m. versus the scheduled 7:40 a.m. time because of a terrible crash, everyone was feeling eager and nervous. Although the start was neutral, some were trying to discreetly move up in position. As the guy on the motorcycle gave the okay, people instantly got into race mode. When we went up one of the first rolling hills, 10-15 minutes into the race, a kid got a little too excited and ran into my rear wheel, breaking two spokes. The first thing I thought was "what now?" I kept riding with the broken wheel, then got to the very back of the pack, just making contact with the last riders. I stayed there, raising my hand, waiting for the Shimano support car. I have a Campy group, so I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. It was a good wheel change, but the group was still far away. I was shocked that it the gears worked, and it gave me great motivation to quickly catch the group. I started to move up to my original position. Daniel offered some encouragement, however at the next steep rolling hill I shifted down to the correct gear, but the chain slipped and wouldn't work at all. I kept shifting down until I found a gear that would hold at all. It just happened to only work in the easiest cog. As I experimented with the gears on the flats, I discovered that I had two climbing options, the easiest gear and one much farther down. At that point I knew that it was over, and I felt like quitting right then. I was feeling the strongest I ever had in my life, and the fact that I was missing out on a great result clouded my mind. This was because it made me just a spectator in the race. Every time we hit a big hill, I had to stay on the nose of the saddle, spinning at 120 rpm. It was very frustrating to see the riders that I would normally be with, get away like that. It felt so strange being with a chase group that I normally wouldn't be with, even though I was glad to see the rest of the team doing okay. I asked myself, "What am I doing here? What's the point if I can't even use all my strength? " I simply couldn't give up -- No matter what. I decided to do the best I could given the circumstances. I kept spinning out on the hills, chasing with other riders, and being part of the race. As I crossed the finish line, People cheered as usual. I had a smirk on my face, wondering what might have been. The good news is that I have next year, and next year I won't be just a spectator.Davis