Ricky Russell: (loud humming in the background) Sorry for all the noise, hang on…… (the sounds stop). Sorry about that, I was still washing up all my stuff from Snowshoe.

GNCCRacing.com: Yeah, I thought that background noise sounded like a power washer. Anyway, congrats on your first XC1 win! How does it feel? 
It feels awesome! It’s still pretty surreal, to be honest. I knew I had the speed but I always struggled to make it happen for the whole three hours… and for it to happen at Snowshoe Mountain of all places, somewhere that I’ve never had the best results. I’ve always felt like I should be able to do well there, because I’m from Washington, but that’s never happened until now. I’m still kind of in shock. 

Yeah, I bet. I’m a little surprised you haven’t done better at Snowshoe in the past. Did all that bad luck previously make you think your first win would be elsewhere?
Going into Snowshoe, you never really know what to expect – that place is crazy! I feel like you’re either going to have a really good day or a really bad day there. A few mistakes can really cost you. I never really thought that Snowshoe would be my first XC1 win, since I’ve struggled there so many times. So like I’ve said, I’m really excited about it. Plus it’s awesome to win something that’s was considered America’s Toughest Race. I mean, with all the extreme stuff that isn’t really true anymore, but that doesn’t take anything away from Snowshoe, and it’s definitely still the toughest GNCC.

Can you take me through your race?
I got a good start, I was second. Then Kaliub [Russell] cut by me and Stu [Baylor] was leading. I followed for awhile, and then Kailub made a mistake in a tight single track section, and I was able to get around. I caught up to Stu, and was able to take advantage of a mistake he made as well. I led the rest of the first lap, but we were all right there together. I should explain that on Snowshoe there’s two loops, each on opposite sides of the mountain. One was really rocky, it’s my favorite and I always gained time there. The other side I struggled a bit – there were a couple of really muddy hills and some fire roads. On that side I was losing time. Because of that we went back and forth a lot. Thad [Duvall] and Kailub got around me several times, but I was able to get back around them on my side of the mountain. It was a pretty gnarly race because we were all battling so much. I had a bit of a lead when I got the white flag, but the last lap was on that side I didn’t like. I knew all I had to do was hit everything clean so they didn’t make up too much time. But when I came to the one hill I was dreading, a really muddy one that had given me problems, I messed up really, really bad. My teammate Josh [Toth] had actually moved up to second place and he got around me. Thad nearly made a pass on me too, but he ended up falling down so I was able to stay ahead. Josh and I switched back and forth a couple of times on more of those muddy hills. We made contact right before Howard’s hole and I about went down hard. I managed to save it with no damage except a smashed brake pedal. I went into Howard’s with an all-or-nothing attitude because I knew this was the last real obstacle before the finish. I cleaned Howard’s Hole perfectly, exited it ahead of Josh. It was a wonderful feeling heading up the last fire road before the finish knowing there was nothing that could stop me now. 

Any secret tips for how to master Snowshoe?
If I had any I wouldn’t be telling them to people! (laughs) But really you just have to stay focused and attack each obstacle one at a time. Just lean back and hold it on. 

Since you’re from Washington State, why did you decide to come do the GNCC series instead of something like WORCS or EnduroCross?
I’ve actually done a little of both. I liked EnduroCross, but definitely struggled quite a bit with it too – it was a love-hate relationship. As for the WORCS, it wasn’t really my style. It’s not very woodsy, and I kind of like the woods. I always enjoyed the Washington rounds, or any place there were trees, but then we’d go down south and race in the desert. Wide-open stuff, I didn’t like it much. But I wanted to advance from just doing the local Washington series, but wanted to still ride in the woods so I came over here and decided to give GNCC a shot. 

Did Jason Raines help you with that transition? I know he’s another rider who came from Washington and succeeded here in the east.
Yes, Jason was a huge part of the beginning for me. I knew what he had done, so I contacted him and asked what it would take. He pretty much told me just to load up my van and get here, so I did. You only live once, so I figured I would give this a shot while I still had the chance! I mean who knows? I wanted to at least try it for a year, and then if I didn’t like it then I’d load up my van and go back home again. Jason gave me a place to stay while I was here, hooked me up with Randy Hawkins, and I ended up training with Paul Whibley that whole year. They wanted someone to train with him, and I needed a place to train so it ended up working out well. That kind of opened the door for me to get a support ride with Yamaha. Like said, Jason started this whole thing for me and without his help there’s no way I’d be here right now. 

Now, you’ve ridden Yamahas most of the time that you’ve been here in the east, haven’t you?
I was mostly on my own in 2013, though they helped me out some, which was nice. In 2014 and 2015 I had an actual support deal with Yamaha. But last year in 2016 I rode for Suzuki through Obermeyer, a dealership in southern Indiana. That year was my first official year where I moved up to XC1 and actually had serious expectations for myself. I saw some pretty serious improvements, working my way to the podium towards the end of the season. And now this year I’m back on Yamaha as a full factory XC1 rider.

Since you’re pretty far from home, where are you living?
Every year except last year, when I was living in Indiana, I have been based out of Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina. I live down at the ranch [Randy Hawkins’ property] with the other Am-Pro Yamaha guys. There’s a bunkhouse, but my mechanic and I actually rent a house together. 

How did you get started racing – who got you into it?
I actually didn’t start racing until – well, I definitely wish I had started earlier, this is pretty late for most riders that become pros, but I didn’t start racing until I was 16 or 17. 

What, really??
Yeah, I know, it’s pretty late. Now, I’ve always ridden my whole life. On camping trips, trail riding with my family and stuff. First time I jumped on a bike I was about three, but crashed it really hard and stayed away from it for like a whole year, I think I was pretty scared of it! I started racing because of some friends I met in high school. They were always trying to get me to come to the races with them because they knew I rode. So they finally talked me into doing one. It was a local Washington race, and I ended up winning 200 B by over 5 minutes. From then on I was hooked. I raced that same series for 4 or 5 years, and that’s when I decided to take it to the next level and start racing some nationals like WORCS.

So did you ever think you’d make it this far? Especially getting a late start like that?
I really didn’t know. I just played it as it went. I kept winning local pro stuff, and finally it got to the point where I felt like I needed more of a challenge. I thought maybe we could go to the next level and make something happen, but I never really knew if I was good enough to be on a factory team or not. But now that I’m here, I’m definitely glad I tried! It’s a cool feeling for sure, to know that you’ve made it.