Big Crash Takes Ricky Russell Out of Georgia GNCC Lead Battle

May 19, 2020, 3:15pm

Washington, GA The BulldogProgressive GNCC Racing

With injuries becoming a common theme of the 2020 Grand National Cross Country Series (factory riders Thad Duvall, Trevor Bollinger, and Ben Kelley are all out) and Steward Baylor now out of a ride, who would challenge Kailub Russell for the race win over the weekend in Georgia?

Two riders stepped up to create a last-lap push for the win. Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Josh Strang and Coastal Racing Husqvarna’s Ricky Russell kept the heat on all day, and Ricky Russell tried to make a pass on Kailub Russell for the lead on the last lap. It didn't work out, and Ricky hit a tree really hard, resulting in some terrible injuries.

He posted today on Instagram to explain just how scary the situation had become.

View this post on Instagram
Trying to smile as much as I can even though it’s been a very painful few days. Thank you to the whole @coastalracing team for all the help and love through this. I was having an awesome race Sunday, felt like I had control of that #1 spot with a lap to go. Caught up to @kr_557 and we were scraping plastics. Unfortunately a racing incident where my calculations were a little off, thinking I had the pass made only to collide with KR and send me into a tree in a very high speed section. My handle bars caught my groin area as I was flying through the air leaving a giant hole in my inner thigh. This destroyed a section of my femoral artery and broke my hip. For those of you that don’t know, the femoral artery is a very serious thing that can cause you to bleed out quickly. After a successful surgery I get to keep my leg and although I’m in tons of pain it looks like I should be alright. Thank you to everyone who helped me get out of the woods safely, and all my awesome friends who have reached out with nice things to say, it means a lot! Big thanks to @amypatterson123 and @slbaylor5 for all their help and for making me as comfortable as possible while I’m here at the hospital.
A post shared by Ricky Russell (@rickyrussell212) on May 19, 2020 at 2:46am PDT
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Wow, you read that right. "After a successful surgery I get to keep my leg and although I’m in tons of pain it looks like I should be alright."

Russell, by the way, hit a tree so hard he literally snapped his handlebars, which is nearly impossible to do.

Yeah, you're looking at the other side of the bars just laying down there. GNCC Racing

Get well soon, R Russ!