2020 GNCC / FULL GAS SPRINT ENDURO CHAMPION KAILUB RUSSELL
P98
Interview
lacking at the moment. At least
for off-road, I'm still going to race,
but that killer instinct is slowly
dwindling away, and the motiva-
tion to hang it out there and stay
at the top is what's the hardest
part to do; the riding part."
SIDELINED
When Russell suffered his
knee injury at this year's Burr
Oak GNCC, it turns out that he
tore his PCL. When he raced his
final two races, he damaged his
knee further.
"When they went in there,
they found that there was a lot
of swelling, and it was a little bit
worse than what they originally
thought," said Russell. "They
told me I would be able to start
bicycling in three to five weeks,
but I'll probably wait until the
start of the year."
KAILUB EDITION
At the Ironman GNCC, the final
round of the year, KTM honored
Russell with the unveiling of the
Kailub Russell Special Edition
350 XC-F. It was only the second
time a KTM "replica" has been
named for an American rider
(Ryan Dungey was the first) and
the only time for an off-roader.
"I was totally excited about
it," said Russell. "I had heard
rumors at the start of the season
that it might happen, but then
when Covid hit and production
was stopped in Austria, I figured
it wouldn't happen. So, when
it did, it was a surprise. I was
thrilled and honored." CN
Russell says he still plans to race off-road,
such as the ISDE in 2021 in Italy, and he
would even like to race Pro Motocross.
