Brent Sass and his 14 dogs cruised to a decisive win in the Yukon Quest 350-mile race arriving in downtown Fairbanks at 6:09 a.m. Tuesday.
The Wild and Free team, led by veterans Lucy and Morello, cruised through the final 40 miles of the race to finish at the Big I bar on the Chena River at 6:09 on Tuesday morning to a small crowd of onlookers.
After snacking the dogs and signing a few autographs, Sass told reporters that his team looked strong the whole race, despite breaking trail for the last 140 miles. He said his dogs especially liked the climbs over Eagle and Rosebud Summits, which 350-mile teams had to navigate twice this year.
“Just as we got off the steepest part I got on the sit and sat the rest of the third of the way up Eagle Summit,” he said, referring to his second time climbing the 3,700-foot pass.
While the dogs were in good shape, Sass’s sled wasn’t so lucky. He came into the finish with his handlebar detached on one side. He said it happened during one of 5 moose encounters he had on the last run.
“I was just kind of daydreaming and sitting on my sled and and, and all of a sudden the dog just jerked forward and I grabbed my handlebar – I guess I grabbed it a little bit too hard cause ripped it right off,” he said.
Sass and his 14 dogs were all alone on the final 40 miles of trail from the last checkpoint at Pleasant Valley to the finish line, having built a substantial lead over 2nd place musher Matt Hall. Sass credits his dog’s power, including on the run over the race’s biggest challenge 37-hundred-foot Eagle Summit. “Going up it was pretty nice and the dogs did an excellent job. I ran a little ways and once we got over the super steep part – I got to sit on the back of the sled and the dogs just marched right up so. It was a good workout still but the dogs are super strong.”
Matt Hall came in second several hours later Tuesday morning. Deke Naaktgeboren of Fairbanks and Healy’s Jennifer LaBarr are on track to finish 3rd and 4th. The 350’s 3 other starters: Cody Strathe, Rob Cook and Misha Willjes scratched earlier in the race. All eleven mushers in the Quest 200 have completed their race in Central. ###