Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2013 year. He narrowly missed out, though, finishing second to teammate Kailub Russell at the final round in what was one of the closest championship battles in years. "Kailub had a great year and he did what he had to do to win it and congrats to him, but it makes me want to work harder to get it back," says Mullins. "I always seem to come out ready to go and then it seems I always have a midseason slump. I had my hands full this year, Kailub really caught fire at the end of the season and I hate to say it, but I basically got out-rode. Kailub was a better rider this year, and it sucks. It makes me want to work that much harder this winter and make sure it doesn't happen again." This year's Six Days in Sardinia was a mixed bag for Mullins. He helped lead the U.S. World Trophy Team to a second overall finish, however he was disappointed in his personal performance, an eighth in the final E2 standings, although he was probably being a bit hard on himself. "Overall, it was great as a team to get second, and I did the best that I could, but on days four and five I didn't have the best days and it hurt me as far as the overall," says Mullins. "It was frustrating for me to give it 100 percent and then to see that you got beat by 30 seconds in a five-minute test. It's amazing how fast those guys go, but I got a top-10 overall, individually, so I kind of met my goals. I was looking for a top-five, but we have Argentina next year, and I think I'll do better." The ISDE has always been a tough event for the Americans because we are going into the Europeans back yard and racing a format that they are very familiar with and yet we see it only once a year. "It's difficult to go to that race, but I wasn't going into it blind, I know the format, I know the tires, TO " I HATEBUT SAY IT, I BASICALLY GOT OUT-RODE. KAILUB WAS A BETTER RIDER THIS YEAR." I know how it works, we weren't going into it blind," says Mullins. "We also walked all the sections. It's frustrating how fast those guys are and how well they can read and ride a grass track the way they do, compared to us. It's just a sprint and knowing the good lines and how to ride a grass track fast, and it's just a matter of experience for us. "I feel like I'm a pretty decent P105 sprinter, and I think national enduro helps in that, but national enduros are around seven to 12 miles, while Six Days are like four mile tests, so there's a big difference. I think my sprint speed is pretty good for a woods guy but I think it could be better." Kurt Caselli's death struck home with Mullins, since he roomed with him at Sardinia. "It has affected me pretty hard," says Mullins. "It was a bad situation and I'm flying tomorrow to California to go to the memorial ride. Me and Kurt spent a lot of time together in Italy, and I was able to pick his brain a bit, and he was really a cool guy. He went down doing what he loved. I talked to him about Baja and it was next on his agenda. He loved it and that was his goal to win the 1000. He seemed like he had a special place in his heart for Baja, but I guess that is one of those things that you have to move on. It has definitely made me step back and take a look at things, now that I have a family. If there's something you really want to do, then you can't let the fear of dying keep you from doing it." As for next year, Mullins will be right back at it, doing what he's been doing the last few years. "In 2014, my deal is with KTM to do the two U.S. series - enduro and GNCCs - plus the ISDE, that is what I'll be doing for the next few years. I plan on riding the 350 again in the enduro series and the 450 for GNCC and Six Days." CN

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