Skrevet av: Stefan Sanne
Dato: 07.03.2004 13:37
The stage in Alta was set at noon on saturday. The dogs and mushers were excited to finally get out into the Finnmarks-vidda and run. In the limited class Katy Meier, a german Musher living in Sweden, took charge of the race. And that was not just because of the good manners of the male mushers.
Katy Meier is an experienced musher with a good team. Her debut endet in 7th place and she raised the stakes this year. It will be very exciting to see whether she can end up at the top.
Her good physical condition might also be an asset. She is participating in triathlons and should therefore be able to use that physical and mental strength further on in the race. However, her dogs are very young and it could be that she will deeply regret her fast start later on, says Abner Hykkerud.
The race is still very close after the first 200 km have been completed by most of the teams. The first 6 teams are only seperated by one hour. Hans Petter Dalby (Alta) and Sten Are Harder (Kirkenes) gained 40 minutes on Meier during the last legg. Jan Brunner (Trondheim) also came closer and Meier will feel the men breathing down her neck.
Meier received a Sami knive in Levajok as a reward for being in the lead. She will be departing from the checkpoint at 13:13 only 14 minutes before Dalby will open the hunt. Harder will follow only 12 minutes later.
It promises to be a close race this year and will remain exciting untill the teams will be arriving back in Alta at the beginning of next week.
Foto: Niels Westphal