Hello Pedigree Stage Stop Race Fans,
When I talked to Michael Tetzner in the fall for a pre race Interview, while he was still training in Germany, we also got to talk about other competitors. At that time Michael mentioned that Remy Coste was a team to watch out for, as he has been dominating European Sprint Racing, including La Grande Odyssee. Well it looks like the warning was warranted.
Remy Coste and his wife Aurelie Delattre for sure seem to have a different approach to things. Noticeably they never tie their dogs off. Their ( large ) dog truck does not even have tie-outs, instead they are setting up a fenced in area. There is a large ramp leading into the back part of their dog hauler. The dogs freely can go in and out.
When time came to hook up the team today, Remy was the 4th team out after Tim Thiessen, Michael Tetzner and Austin Forney, Remy walked his entire team of 8 on leashes to his sled, which was set up far away from his dogtruck. Matter of fact Remy walked his dogs for at least 15 minutes prior to hooking them to the gangline.
Personally I have always liked calm teams. For me living somewhat remote that was a must, as I was never a fan of walking home. Doing tours calm hookups also helped. Well, Remy and Aurelie have taken that calmness to another whole level. Their team sits and waits completely patiently, not a piep to heard. But then once Remy calmly tells them to go, dang….. they sure spring into action.
I made it to Mile 13.2 on the trail via Irondog, about a Mile short of the actual turn around loop. The area was nice and open, and was hoping for some head on passes. Over the radio I could hear Race Judge Katie Davies saying that Remy had made almost 5 minutes on 5 Time Champion Anny Malo by that point. Impressive. Race Marshal Warren Palfrey quipped back over the radio: ” Lets see how the way home goes “. Well that way home went well with Remy making up another 2 minutes on Anny Malo.
All Mushers I talked to after the race were happy how fast the trail was, and that the sun stayed behind a nice cloud cover. Of course there are many other stories from along the trail. I hope to get to them eventually. Between social media and this website and me the only one posting on this website, it might not be as in depth as in the past, sorry about that…..Uploading speeds here in Lander are also a bit of a challenge, when it comes to videos…..
Here some pictures from today’s Stage:
