My First Junior Nationals!

by Leo Wilssens, age 11

Okay so. NATIONALS. I have wanted to go to Junior Nationals basically forever, and this year I finally got to go, and I was SO excited. Also a tiny bit nervous. Like 90% excited, 10% “oh no.”

The nervous part was because I was going to race a whole bunch of people I had never met before, and because I crashed a couple of weeks earlier. That crash was still living in the back of my brain, kind of tapping me on the shoulder going “hey, remember me?” But I told myself I’d be fine. And honestly? I thought I had a really good shot at winning.

The racing part

Here is the first thing I learned at Nationals: everyone is FAST. Like, fast fast. I knew people would be quick, but I did not know they would be that quick. It is a different thing when the person next to you on the line is also one of the fastest kids from their whole state.

The second thing I learned is that a big field changes everything. At home I know where to be. At Nationals there were way more riders, the races were short, and by the time I figured out where I wanted to be, someone was already there. Getting good position early was the hardest part of the whole week for me. I kept ending up further back than I wanted, and in a short race you do not get many chances to fix that.

So my plan became: attack. At least once per race, GO. If I was going to get beaten, I wanted to make people actually beat me instead of just sitting at the back and hoping. In one race I led it out with five laps to go and went for it.

Spoiler: leading out with five laps to go is not the winning move. They came around me. But you know what? It was way better than being stuck at the back watching it happen. I would rather lose doing something than lose doing nothing.

What I’m proud of

I am proud that I went. I am proud that I raced at Nationals at eleven years old and lined up against the fastest kids in the country. I am proud that I sprinted, that I attacked, and that I was willing to go and do it instead of hiding in the pack.

What I’d do differently

Position, position, position. I wish I had fought harder for good spots early instead of trying to save it all for the end. And I wish I had sprinted smarter — paid more attention, watched what was happening around me, and made better moves instead of just going as hard as I could and hoping.

Next time. I know what to work on now, which is kind of the whole point.

The team

The best surprise of the week was the team. Actually… not a surprise at all. Our team is awesome. Everybody was cheering for everybody. And here is the thing — I did not win, and they were still just as nice to me. Nobody made me feel bad about it. That meant a lot.

The coaches were awesome too. They told me exactly what to do, kept me calm, and basically got me through the whole thing. I am not sure I would have made it through the week the same way without them.

The non-racing part (also excellent)

Playing PlayStation with my dad. Ten out of ten.

The ribs at the Texas Steakhouse. These were not normal ribs. These were SUPREMO ribs. I still think about them.

We also went to New York, and we took a HELICOPTER over the city. An actual helicopter. Over New York. I do not really know what else to say about that except that it was amazing.

And my bike

My bike is amazingly awesome. It is so fast. It is 100% the bike for me.