August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 108

On The Pegs 108
KAILUB RUSSELL CLAIMS 66TH CAREER GNCC XC1 VICTORY A
It’s often said that if there’s one thing you
can count on coming into the John Penton
GNCCC is that it is either going to be a
mudfest or dusty. Despite calls at mid-week for
80% rain showers on both Saturday and Sunday,
Sunday’s ‘Bike” day was neither muddy (except
at the hillclimb out of the creek), nor was it especially
dusty.
Kailub Russell and his FMF/KTM teammate Ben Kelley
battled for the lead after the start of the race.
Kelley explains the first lap fiasco between he, Kailub,
FMF KTM’s Josh Toth and Sherco’s Cory Buttrick. .
“I came into the first corner a little hot and just
overshot it, so Kailub snuck by me, but I was second
place,” said Kelley. “Things looked good, but Cory
snuck by me early on so I was in third place for about
the first half of the lap. Then coming back through
the FMF Powerpoint, it was super slick, with kind of
an S-turn up on a ridge. I got sideways and just flew
off a bank. It was a huge bank. Down off a four-foot
cliff right into the river. Somehow I saved it. Was
going up the creek backwards up the Monster Mile
and had to come back on the track, so I got probably
back to sixth or seventh. I just shook it off and
charged through from there through the Monster
Mile. Somehow by the end of the Monster Mile I
was in first place. Made some good passes and just
felt good. We got into these open field sections and
Kailub was definitely faster than me. He reeled me in
and then passed me right in the Monster Mile.”
Kelley finished just off the podium in fourth. Meanwhile,
Toth had quite an experience on the first lap,
as well.
“I was in the top three, top four off the start then
made some passes and got up to second actually