MADISON- Cael Bagby was on his way to a superb finish among some of the top motorcross racers in the country as he finished as high as 12^th at the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Nationals when the unthinkable happened crushing his hopes for possible placement among the top 42 for the 2020 Summer Nationals.

On the first lap of the third race of the Schoolboy-1 12-17 age division in the national main event in Gainesville, Fla. Bagby was coming out of a corner at 25 miles per hour and was leading up to a big jump on the monstrous course. On the jump takeoff the suspension on his bike bottomed out in a rut causing his foot pads to get caught up in the dirt ripping his feet away from his bike. “I went with the bike-my feet were in the air while my hands were on the bike,” said Bagby. “I became unbalanced and both of legs were on the right side of the bike.”

Upon impact with the ground below the bike and Bagby hit with an unimaginable force which broke his left femur. “I looked at my leg and it was bent sideways and you could see by bones just below the surface of my skin,” said Bagby.

After being taken by ambulance to the hospital, the 14-year old freshman at Bob Jones was assessed and placed in traction where it was determined he would need surgery the next morning. A surgeon placed a steel rod and screws into his leg to assist in the healing process, which will take months.

“I was up walking the next day after surgery and I currently use crutches and can only put a slight amount of weight on my left leg,” said Bagby. “The incident was a big disappointment, but there was nothing I could do about the incident.”

The surgery was held at the University of Florida Shands Hospital where Bagby and his parents would spend Thanksgiving and together they celebrated the holiday by eating in the hospital café before returning to home base in Madison the day after Thanksgiving.

Bagby is taking an extended period of time off from attending school, but the administration and teaching staff have worked with Bagby and his parents, Steve and Kris Barnes, on having his assigned school work delivered to his home through a school extended illness program until he can return to normal school activities.

“Once I heal I will be back to racing,” added Bagby.

He’s expected to be back on a bike in some degree in the coming months. By that time the possibility of selling his bikes and moving up in classification is a strong possibility. After all, he was racing well at the AMA Nationals. “I was racing very well and I was confident, but a little nervous racing in the nationals. Up until the moment of the accident I felt good.”

The accident and surgery were not the first for Bagby as he’s been racing since age four. In 2017 he suffered a broken ankle and he had a plate inserted into his collarbone in 2018 and in February this year he underwent knee surgery on the same leg he severely injured in Florida.

When asked if he’s ever afraid or does he expect to be afraid once he gets back on his racing bike, he said, “Being afraid is part of the sport and the accident just happened and it was just my bad luck.”

The race season ended on a bad note for the 5-foot-8, 125-pound athlete, but earlier in the year he won three Alabama state titles. The next race season will have Bagby riding new bikes in a new division with a new attitude of how to face possible serious injury coming at any time after being knocked off the pedestal of being on the top of the world of motorcross racing.