Canadian Hans Gatt was on pace to win the Cantwell Classic, battling chilling temperatures along the 200-mile race that runs from Cantwell to McClaren Lodge on stretches of the Denali Highway and back.
Race officials said the mercury dropped to 40 below on Saturday night, with a slight wind that made it bone-chilling cold for the 32 mushers competing in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier.
“It’s not nice out there,” said one of the race officials. “And (the wind’s) blowing too.”
Gatt, a three-time Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race champion, was the first musher to leave the Big Su checkpoint on Saturday afternoon. He left at 1:14 p.m., followed by Debbie Moderow a minute later.
If Gatt wins, it would be his first as Lance Mackey of Fairbanks won last year’s inaugural race.
Four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser and his 18-year-old son, Rohn, have been pacing one another. They departed Big Su one minute apart.
Cantwell Classic
Standings as of 9 p.m., Saturday
Out of Big Su — Hans Gatt 1:14 p.m.; Debbie Moderow 1:15; Jessie Royer 1:22; Michelle Phillips 1:28; Judy Currier 1:29; Jennifer Kemper 1:39; Hugh Neff 1:40; Clint Warnke 1:40; Rohn Buser 1:43; Martin Buser 1:44; John Stewert 1:49; Mike Barnett 1:50; Anne Capistrant 1:55; Aaron Burmeister 1:55; Scott Reid 1:58; Bill Cotter 2:08; Ramy Brooks 2:11; Didier Moggia 2:19; Kelley Griffin 2:22; Paul Geoffrion 2:32; Allen Miller 2:39; Benedikt Beisch 2:54; Wayne Curtis 3:07; Bob Hickel 3:40; Anja Fein 4:38; Tamara Rose 5:33; Tammi Rego 6:12; Debbie Hoover 6:26.
Into Big Su — Dale Curry 2:05; Christine Roalofs 2:47; Jason Weitzel 2:54; Lucy Tyrrell 4:34.
Source: The Anchorage Daily News
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