2020 GNCC XC1 Bike National Champion - Kailub Russell
In his final full season racing the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC), FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Kailub Russell claimed his eighth consecutive National Championship.
Russell started the year with four-straight wins and seven wins in the first eight rounds. Then he suffered a knee injury at the Burr Oaks GNCC (round 10 of 13), but was able to claim third and fourth overall, respectively, at the 11th (Mason-Dixon GNCC) and 12th (Ironman GNCC) rounds. His third-place finish at the Mason-Dixon GNCC allowed him to claim the overall title because of his lead on second place Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Josh Strang. Unfortunately, the knee injury kept Russell out of the final GNCC event of the year as went in for surgery in November. He still ends the year with those seven wins, furthering his record as the all-time leader in Grand National Cross Country bike victories.
Russell has yet to announce his racing plans for 2021 but has indicated that although he won't be retiring from racing completely.
Video Highlights Courtesy of GNCC Racing