RUSSELL CLINCHES SIXTH GNCC TITLE
R
iding with an injured shoul-
der, which would require sur-
gery just days later, FMF KTM's
Kailub Russell claimed a record
sixth Grand National Cross
Country championship title with
a runner-up finish at the Power-
line Park GNCC, the next-to-last
round of the GNCC series in St.
Clairsville, Ohio.
In the meantime, Thad Duvall
claimed his second win in a row
following an impressive charge
from last place after a first-lap
encounter with Russell left the
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider
on the ground. Russell and Du-
vall came together just after the
start, which pushed Duvall off his
line. In the following turn, Duvall's
front wheel caught Russell's rear
wheel, throwing Duvall to the
ground and causing him to rejoin
the race in last place.
"It of knocked the wind out of
me," Duvall said of the incident.
"I got up really mad and just rode
off. I'm sure I didn't make any
friends on the first lap, trying to
catch up to the leaders."
Amazingly, Duvall was able to
work his way into a battle for the
lead with Russell by the halfway
point of the race. When Russell
tipped over in a mud hole on the
final lap, Duvall took the lead for
good, finishing the race with a
51-second advantage over Rus-
sell for the win.
"I may have won the battle but
I didn't win the war," said Duvall.
"It's a bummer it wasn't for a
championship, but I get paid to
win races and we were able to do
that today."
Russell admitted after the race
that he really wasn't pushing for
a win considering the condition
of his shoulder. However, when
the FMF KTM rider took over the
lead just over midway into the
race he had second thoughts.
"I wasn't really trying to win at
the start of the race, but then I
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