OFF-ROAD
GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
ROUND 4 / MARCH 17, 2020
AONIA PASS MX / WASHINGTON, GEORGIA
P42
strategy with what we were going to take during the
race. We had a little bit of a couple issues with it
throughout the last three laps. My straw was falling
out of the bottle before I was getting any water. So, I
didn't really get any liquids in me the last hour of the
race, and I suffered from it pretty hard the last lap."
In addition to hydration problems, Ricky Russell was
on a mission and had chipped away at Kailub's lead
until he was right on the KTM rider by the final lap.
"It was definitely his race to win today," said
Kailub. "I kind of got a little bit lucky. He kamikaze'd
himself there about the three- or four-mile marker.
He tried a crazy line. When you're pushing late in the
race the last lap, the heat gets to you. Your judge-
ment is a little bit off. We were racing hard and not
giving up an inch, but it was a completely avoidable
crash. I don't understand what happened, what
he was thinking. It was one of those things. When
we touched, I knew he was crashing, just the way
it played out in the woods. I feel bad
that he went down that hard. It was a
big hit that he took because we were
going fast. It was a fast straightaway in
the woods. These three lines funneled
into one, and I had the premier line
and was out front. I had my bike up in
front of him. I really didn't even see him,
and it kind of came out of nowhere.
We just barely touched and he kind
of pin-balled off of me and went in the
opposite direction. Tough break for him.
I'm glad to have some competition and
step it up."
Unfortunately for Ricky Russell,
he snapped off his handlebar, which
jabbed him in the leg, causing a punc-
ture. Ricky was transported by ambu-
lance to a hospital for examination.
"I know he cut his leg and he's be-
ing transported," said Coastal Racing
Ricky Russell
challenged Kailub
Russell for the win
but ended up going
down on the last lap,
injuring his leg.
(Below) Craig Delong had a strong
performance finishing third overall and first
in the XC2 250 Pro class.
