The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race leaders marched into their mandatory eight-hour pit stop at White Mountain, Alaska, Tuesday morning with defending champ Lance Mackey holding a surprising 57-minute lead.
Since the race hit the Bering Sea coast at the village of Unalakleet Sunday afternoon, the four-time winner of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the 2007 Iditarod victor has been haunted by four-time Iditarod champ Jeff King, of Denali Park.
King's strategy has been to let his dogs rest longer at checklpoints, then use their superior speed to catch up. But on Monday, he didn't gain it back. In fact, he fell another seven minutes behind. No matter what strategy King has in mind, trailing the defending champion by almost an hour into White Mountain cannot have been part of it.
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