IN
THE
WIND
P36
Russell Says This Year Will Be His Last
F
ollowing a very deco-
rated career in profes-
sional off-road racing,
FMF KTM Factory Racing
Team's Kailub Russell has
announced that 2020 will
mark his final XC1 season
in the AMA Grand Nation-
al Cross Country Series
as he competes for his
eighth-consecutive title in
the premier class.
Heading into his 10th
season on the front row,
Russell has become a
dominant force over the
last decade as he current-
ly holds the most overall
bike wins in GNCC's
history at 60, while also
sitting second behind Ed
Lojak (nine-time cham-
pion) on the series' all-time
championship list with seven
consecutive XC1 Pro titles. But
his list of accolades doesn't stop
there, as a two-time member of
the International Six Days En-
duro (ISDE) gold medal winning
American team, two-time Full
Gas Sprint Enduro Pro Champi-
on (2015 and '19) and 2015 AMA
National Enduro Pro Champion,
Russell has seen much success
at the highest levels of off-road
racing and he looks to conclude
his professional career on a high
note in 2020.
"It's tough to walk away from all
I have ever known," he said. "Un-
like most though, I can say that
I have given my absolute best
as a racer and not left any stone
unturned throughout my GNCC
career. Racing has taken a toll on
my mind and body throughout my
lifetime, but it has opened more
doors and opportunities than I
could have ever dreamed about.
I'm going to continue racing until
the end of 2021 at least, but with
a limited race schedule as I tran-
sition into the next chapter of life.
While the 2020 season marks
my 10th and final year as an XC1
competitor, I'm just as ambitious
and motivated for my last as I was
my first."
"Kailub has had an abso-
lutely stunning career in racing
GNCC," said Team Manager Antti
Kallonen. "And he still continues
to push forward in his winning
ways but everything has its end
and the time is coming with
Kailub. Looking back as he starts
his 10th year in the GNCC XC1
class, it is truly remarkable what
he has accomplished as a rider
but also what he has brought to
the team and KTM over all these
years, and we look forward to
his final year for him to produce
yet his best performance in his
career." CN
Six-time GNCC Champion
Kailub Russell says 2020
will be his last as a full-
time professional racer.
