Yukon Quest 2017 – Day 7
Hank DeBruin and his 8 Siberians made it to Dawson just before midnight local time, and Brent made it to Eagle at 5AM AKST [8AM CST]
The Finish line in Fairbanks has been moved off the river because the ice may not be thick enough for the teams and spectators.
Yuka Honda scratched at Dawson for ‘well-being of her dogs’. The loss of Firefly was too big a burden.
In other sled dog news, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart to move to Fairbanks. I assume they will use the 2015 route, but they moved the finish of the Quest because of questionable ice on the Tanana, so the Iditarod may have to get creative.
The Current Standings at 8:30PM CST ( 6:30PM PST):
Beyond Eagle
1 Brent Sass (14)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Matt Hall (20)
4 Allen Moore (8)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
Beyond Dawson
6 Katherine Keith (19)R
7 Paige Drobny (7)
8 Torsten Kohnert (21)
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Jessie Royer (1)R
13 Dave Dalton (13)
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)R
16 Ben Good (3)R
At Dawson
17 Hank DeBruin (17)
These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.
The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.
Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.
All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.
4 comments
Except for Sass and Neff, the remainder of the teams seem to be pretty tight with no major stragglers at this point. Interesting. Unlike the Iditarod which always has a broad spread between the bulk of the teams in the middle with one or two waaaay behind. Everyone looks to be handling things about evenly on this run.
Sass is about 30 miles ahead of Neff. Does that seem to you like an insurmountable distance at this point in the race? There’s obviously still a long way to go, but I haven’t been keeping up with their required stopovers, etc. so I’m not sure how to factor any of that in.
Brent, Hugh, and Allen are all going according to their own individual game plans for resting and running. Allen moves at a more measured pace to preserve his team for the end and the climbs, while Brent & Hugh prefer a fast start to build up a lead before hitting Eagle/Rosebud. Brent has been first into Dawson for four years in a row, but he didn’t win all four years.
Good info to know. I guess it’s the old “it ain’t over until it’s over” business. The Super Bowl this year should have taught me that. 🙂
Of course, it doesn’t really matter who wins really, as long as all the teams make it in safely, it’s a win.
Thinking of this, does the last person to come in get an award in the Quest like they do in the Iditarod? I’ll have to look that up.
Okay, I answered that for myself. LOL. So, they also get a Red Lantern award? I thought they might use something else to differentiate from the Iditarod, but I guess the Red Lantern is such an historic ritual that it’s appropriate for any races.
At the Tour de France it is called La Lanterne Rouge, but it is the same object. It is a pretty universal symbol for the last person finishing a long distance event. Hank DeBruin only has 8 Siberians left, so he isn’t apt to move out of last place. He won’t be leaving Dawson until Noon local/2PM CST tomorrow. The teams coming into Dawson have loved the trail this year.