Hello Pedigree Stage Stop Race Fans
Stage number 6 in Alpine went off without a hitch. The trail leading out at 9 a.m. was surprisingly hard packed and fast. Not much Snowmachine traffic had left prior to race start. Once we made it to about Mile 12 on the trail, that changed drastically, with the first large group of machines passing us from behind. And make no mistake, those snowmachiners are here to have fun and haul ass. It did not take long for the trail to become much softer.
The first 3 teams finished for the day were also in the same order as the overall standings. Anny Malo once again defended her yellow bib, posting an average of 15.4 mph. While out on the trail, it did not seem as fast to her, she told me after the run. Alix Crittenden was 0.4 mph slower, or 3 minutes and 5 seconds. Cathy Rivest rounded out the Top 3 with a time of 2hrs 09 minutes and 31 seconds.
Bruce Lee commented on how well Liz Thompson’s team was moving when he saw her come by at Mile 25. Yep, she had a personal best finish in 4th place for this 2023 Pedigree Stage Stop Race. Laura Bontrager was 1 minute and 30 seconds behind for 5th. Donny Poulin keeps on having very consistent runs, despite only running 9 dogs during todays heat. He remains in 5th place overall. Rachel Courtney and Austin Forney were only separated by a mere 2 seconds for 31 Mile of Racing, Mike Bestgen 14 seconds behind that. As you can tell it is a tight field, as for much of the last week!
Here some shots from the trail:
