INTERVIEW
2013 GNCC CHAMPION KAILUB RUSSELL
BY SHAN MOORE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEN HILL
O
ne year ago, Kailub Russell was dealing with the
bitter sting of just missing
out on a life-long dream of winning the Grand National Cross
Country Series XC1 title.
This year, he knows what it
feels like to be on the other side
after edging FMF/KTM teammate Charlie Mullins for the 2013
title in the final round of one of
the closest championship battles
in GNCC on record.
Throughout the 13-round series, Russell and Mullins were
amazingly close, battling back
and forth in a two-man clash that
went down to the wire at almost
every round.
Mullins took the early lead during the first half of the season,
having won four of the first six
rounds. However, Russell caught
fire midseason and reeled off
five-straight wins (plus a runnerup finish) to carry a two-point lead
into the series finale in Indiana.
With everything on the line in
Indiana, Russell came back from
a 15-point penalty after the start
to take a hard-earned and exciting win to claim the XC1 title.
For Russell, who moved to the
XC1 class three years ago after
back-to-back XC2 titles, it was a
long time coming.
"It felt like it should have happened in 2012, but I came up a
little short," Russell says. "But I'm
happy that I rebounded and had
a better year than I did in 2012,
P156
MEET
THE NEW
GNCC
CHAMP
Kailub Russell pulls
through in the clutch to
win his first GNCC title
