IN
THE
WIND
P22
RUSSELL TAKES SNOWSHOE GNCC VICTORY
T
he AMSOIL Grand National
Cross Country Series visited
the Snowshoe Mountain Ski
Resort for round nine, where
racers took to the hilly West
Virginia course that had been
thoroughly soaked by heavy
rains. They were faced with
challenging muddy terrain filled
with slick rocks, tree roots, and
worst of all, thick, deep mud of
"Howard's Hole."
Despite it all, Kailub Russell
was, once again, unstoppable.
The FMF KTM Factory rider
earned his eighth victory of the
season—his 30
th
career GNCC
victory—though it wasn't without
a fight from Thad DuVall. After
getting out to a good start, Rus-
sell moved into the early lead
on the opening lap. After some
early advances by Ryan Sipes,
it was the Husqvarna of DuVall
who gave Russell the stiffest
challenge for the lead. The two
dueled it out for the majority
of the race, staying within five
seconds of each other.
When the two-lap board came
out, Russell decided he'd had
enough of DuVall, and he put
the hammer down to pull away
with the lead. By the checkered
flag, Russell had one minute and
20 seconds over DuVall, who
finished a solid second place.
"I knew it was going to be a
tough day after walking the track
in the morning," Russell said. "I
had a fun day racing with Thad;
he had a lot of good lines and I
Kailub Russell
navigates the
sloppy mud of the
Snowshoe GNCC
course.
