Backen is Back!

Kjetil Backen rockets into Rohn, and into the lead, Aaron Burmeister, Lance Mackey, Paul Gebhardt and others give chase.

2004 seems like a long time ago, and with Kjetil Backen, Robert Sorlie, and Bjornar Andersen taking turns running the race for team Norway, and with Sorlie having an off year in 2007, it is sometimes easy to forget that this group is still a force to be reckoned with. Backen took on the Dalzell Gorge, one of the most treacherous stretches of the trail with a two hour lead and managed to stay in first at over 11 miles per hour.

Is he going to fast too soon? This has always been a part of team Norway’s strategy, get out in the lead early on and make the other mushers catch you. If you look at what Lance Mackey was able to accomplish, he did a very similar thing, pulling ahead going into the Gorge and try to keep that lead for as long as possible. It doesn’t mean things won’t change, because they probably will… but you can bet that Kjetil is right where he wants to be.