Kailub Russell took out the premier class win at round nine. Image: Ken Hill.

Round nine of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC) took place at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia on Sunday.

In the XC1 Pro class Kailub Russell started on the front row alongside Charlie Mullins, Chris Bach, Paul Whibley and Australia’s Josh Strang.

But a crash on the opening lap set Rusell and his Factory FMF/KTM a ways back from the lead pack. Mullins put himself out front right away, where he led the first two laps of the race.

Shenandoah Honda/USWE-Sports.com’s Thad DuVall started on the second row, only 10 seconds behind the first five riders. By the end of lap one, DuVall had made his way into the second place position where he engaged in a battle with AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn.

DuVall eventually commanded the second place position where he set his sights on Mullins for the lead. DuVall caught and passed Mullins for the lead about halfway through the eight-lap race and the duo went back and forth for the lead position.

Meanwhile, Russell was making a charge from behind despite running into a few roadblocks along the way. Russell eventually caught the leaders just as DuVall began to experience mechanical issues.

Ashburn sat in a comfortable third place position for a majority of the race until he also suffered a mechanical issue. Ashburn pulled into his pit but a punctured radiator hose wasn’t repairable in time to salvage any championship points.

Ashburn’s misfortune allowed Carolina KTM/RidePG.com’s Bach to make his way into the third place spot. Bach set his sights on Russell and Mullins but the KTM duo had created a large gap on the rest of the field.

From there, Bach rode a solid and consistent race to finish third place physically, but in the end it was DuVall who prevailed with third place overall on adjusted time.

Mullins made a strong charge on Russell during the final lap, finishing 10 seconds back for second place. Russell’s victory marked three-in-a-row for the Ohio native, closing the points gap on Mullins to only three points heading into the summer break.

AmPro Yamaha’s Paul Whibley rounded out the top five in the XC1 class, while 2012 Snowshoe winner Rory Mead captured sixth aboard his FMF/RPM/KTM Team Maxxis ride.

RidePG.com/ Maxxis/FLY Racing’s Adam Bonneur finished seventh; Litz Racing Honda’s Takeshi Koikeda took eighth, while Mark Fortner and Ricky Russell rounded out the top 10. Strang was 12th overall aboard his Rocky Mountain ATV/MC Kawasaki.

In the XC2 Pro Lites class it was KTM Support rider Grant Baylor and DirtWise Schools/KTM-Parts.com/Maxxis rider Jason Thomas went head-to-head for the win.

Baylor prevailed with the XC2 Class win, also capturing an impressive fifth place overall. Thomas’ second place finish in the class was good enough to earn the defending champion sixth place overall for the day.

Pennsylvania’s Shane Hufford Jr. earned his first career podium finish in the XC2 class with third place at the Snowshoe event.

The 2013 GNCC series heads to the Unadilla Valley Sports Center on 7 September for round 10.

2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country
Round nine – Showshoe, WV

XC1 Pro overall results:
1. Kailub Russell
2. Charlie Mullins
3. Thad Duvall
4. Chris Bach
5. Paul Whibley
6. Rory Mead
7. Adam Bonneur
8. Takeshi Koikeda
9. Mark Fortner
10. Ricky Russell
12. Josh Strang (AUS)

XC2 Pro Lites overall results:
1. Grant Baylor
2. Jason Thomas
3. Shane Hufford
4. Scott Grills
5. Layne Michael
6. Jesse Groemm
7. AJ Stewart
8. Ian Blythe
9. Chris Douglas
10. Samuel Evans

Click here for detailed results