Tactical battles

The leading teams are now engaged in a strategic battle and they are only seperated by 11 minutes. Roger Dahl and Harald Tunheim were both tired, but focused and ready for fight. This is a duell none of the two wants to loose.

The resting time in Levajok turned out to be a fight of nerves between the two veterans in lead and maybe even more between their handlerteam. Haralds team was watching Rogers jacket throughout the night. They got the clear order to run and wake Harald as soon as the jacket, that was suposed to dry, would be picked up. They did not want to take any chances and Roger was obviously not supposed to get the chance to sneak out while Harld was sleeping.

But Roger cut down the lead and started under 11 minutes behind. Now they are on their way to Karasjok. The trail today is about 80 km long and is all the way on the frozen river of Karasjoka. Yesterdays stage has shown how tough it is to go many kilometers on the river. The river is open and accesible for wind, something the mushers got to feel strongly in the night. Roger and Harald were both complaining about a slow trail and bad gliding. At Sirbma there had been a lot of snow, which made the going out of the checkpoint very tough.

Tore Bergby still rests in Levajok. He came into the checkpoint 2 hours and 18 minutes behind Tunheim. After going very quick to Sirbma did the Musher from Hallingdal loose a lot of time on the last 40 km. He left Levajok at 09:22.

In the morning hours Hans Petter Dalby came into Levajok. Dalby was going very fast over the last kilometers and might be able to challenge Bergby's third place. But at the same time he is threatened by Petter Jahnsen, who will most likely go all the way to Karasjok without stopping at Levajok, since he had rested for 6 hours in Sirbma.