An Impressive Victory
Two tries, two wins for Mackey in Quest
Last updated Feb 22 2006 07:41 AM MSTCBC News
Alaskan Lance Mackey won this year's Yukon Quest on Tuesday night – but didn't know it at the time.
Mackey made it two in a row when he crossed the finish line in Dawson City in the slightly-shortened race at 8:30 p.m.
"Until just now didn't know if first or third or 15th, no idea, until I got my bib," he says. "Finally realized what happened, now it's pretty exciting."
Mackey missed a trail marker on King Solomon's dome, a move that he figures cost him three hours.
Mackey explains his last hours on the trail to his wife and father."I thought I blew it, everything I worked for, never can tell … I just wanted to cry, literally, just an idiot, apologizing to my dogs," he says.
INDEPTH: Yukon Quest 2006 Despite the foul-up, Mackey's commanding lead held. It was another hour and 12 minutes before Atlin musher Hans Gatt arrived. He surprised many by resting his dogs for 12 hours at the last checkpoint until early yesterday morning and letting Mackey take the lead.
"Half my team are three-year-old dogs, but I'm not going to jeopardize their future by making one final push, that's for veteran dogs," he says.
Eight minutes after Gatt, William Kleedehn arrived, pleased with his third-place finish.
"To be frank, if I would have seen him appear behind me, for example, I would have stopped and let him go by," he says of Mackey's mishap on the trail. "That's bullshit, the fastest team is supposed to win, the best team. That kind of bad luck, not even Lance deserves that."
Both Kleedehn and Gatt were surprised Mackey was lost on the trail, but question whether they could have caught him.
Mackey says he got lucky this year.
He finished the race in 10 days, seven hours and 47 minutes. While that's a Quest record, it will be one with an asterisk beside it: it was made on a shorter trail with a different finish line.
Race officials changed the course last week to end in Dawson after it was decided a lack of snow made the last 100 kilometres of the trail into Whitehorse too dangerous for the dogs
Last updated Feb 22 2006 07:41 AM MSTCBC News
Alaskan Lance Mackey won this year's Yukon Quest on Tuesday night – but didn't know it at the time.
Mackey made it two in a row when he crossed the finish line in Dawson City in the slightly-shortened race at 8:30 p.m.
"Until just now didn't know if first or third or 15th, no idea, until I got my bib," he says. "Finally realized what happened, now it's pretty exciting."
Mackey missed a trail marker on King Solomon's dome, a move that he figures cost him three hours.
Mackey explains his last hours on the trail to his wife and father."I thought I blew it, everything I worked for, never can tell … I just wanted to cry, literally, just an idiot, apologizing to my dogs," he says.
INDEPTH: Yukon Quest 2006 Despite the foul-up, Mackey's commanding lead held. It was another hour and 12 minutes before Atlin musher Hans Gatt arrived. He surprised many by resting his dogs for 12 hours at the last checkpoint until early yesterday morning and letting Mackey take the lead.
"Half my team are three-year-old dogs, but I'm not going to jeopardize their future by making one final push, that's for veteran dogs," he says.
Eight minutes after Gatt, William Kleedehn arrived, pleased with his third-place finish.
"To be frank, if I would have seen him appear behind me, for example, I would have stopped and let him go by," he says of Mackey's mishap on the trail. "That's bullshit, the fastest team is supposed to win, the best team. That kind of bad luck, not even Lance deserves that."
Both Kleedehn and Gatt were surprised Mackey was lost on the trail, but question whether they could have caught him.
Mackey says he got lucky this year.
He finished the race in 10 days, seven hours and 47 minutes. While that's a Quest record, it will be one with an asterisk beside it: it was made on a shorter trail with a different finish line.
Race officials changed the course last week to end in Dawson after it was decided a lack of snow made the last 100 kilometres of the trail into Whitehorse too dangerous for the dogs
posted by Scott at 10:11 AM
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