Massicotte first at the Can-Am for second time Canadian wins by 23 minutes

FORT KENT – A tired and exhilarated Martin Massicotte and six dogs still ready to run crossed the finish line at 5:17 a.m. Monday to win the 10th annual Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog race and its $4,500 first-place prize.

He was greeted by about 40 die-hard fans, some who had been awaiting his arrival for some time. They cheered the musher the last several hundred feet.

Massicotte, 30, whose Can-Am Crown win was his second in seven attempts, left the Allagash checkpoint with six dogs at 10:54 p.m. Sunday. He arrived at the finish line at Lonesome Pine Trails 23 minutes ahead of Stephane DuPlessis.

When he left Allagash, Massicotte was 10 minutes ahead of Matt Weik, who was in second place. Behind Weik by 26 seconds was DuPlessis. Bruce Langmaid was fourth, four minutes behind DuPlessis.

Six hours and 24 minutes later, after doing the last 47 miles of the 250-mile classic, Massicotte gained another 13 minutes over his closest opponent, DuPlessis, who had passed Weik on the trail.

The Can-Am Crown competitions have purses of $40,000. The purses for each race (30, 60 and 250 miles) are split among the top 12 finishers in each race. The 250-mile race also gives $1,000 for the fastest time between each checkpoint, and a $4,000 bonus award will be divided among the mushers finishing the race.

The 250-mile race started at 10 a.m. Saturday on Main Street.

“Oui c’est lui [yes, it’s him],” yelled Marie Josee Duhonj, when she recognized her husband in the dark while he was still 100 yards away from the finish line.

She grabbed and kissed him even before he crossed the finish line. Massicotte is from St. Tite, Quebec.

“Papa, tu vas toute gagner la course [Papa, you will win the whole race],” his 3-year-old daughter Melodie yelled above the din of the crowd the previous night when he was the first musher to arrive at the Allagash checkpoint.

“The trail was fast, very quick,” he said in French after crossing the finish line. “I saw them [other mushers] behind after I took off, but I haven’t seen them since.”

“This leg of the race went well,” he said. “The engines on my dogs are wound up enough to run another 20 miles.”

Massicotte’s has been fifth twice, third twice, first twice and scratched once. He placed fourth in the 1995 60-mile Can-Am Crown race.

His racing time of 29 hours, 21 minutes beat his 1998 winning time of 32 hours, 35 minutes by three hours and 14 minutes.

It was a tough race for everyone in the 250-mile endurance run. Fantastic conditions and trails Saturday saw competitors running hard to keep up with front runners. The pace kept up during the night.

Early Sunday morning, conditions deteriorated with a warming trend. Great trails turned to soft trails, fresh dogs and fresh mushers turned tired, and the weather changed. Snow flurries turned to rain and bright sun raised temperatures into the 50s for a short time at Allagash Sunday afternoon.

More rain Sunday night made more mush of trails, until a cold snap moved in. Along with the cold, harsh winds came a hardening of the trails.

Some mushers wanted the race stopped Sunday night. Race Marshall George Theriault, after consulting with veterinarians and trail makers, said the race would go on. The condition of the dogs was rated to be good by veterinarians, and Tyler Kelly said the trail to Fort Kent was in great condition.

DuPlessis, 38, of St. Zenon, Quebec, was happy coming in second- place at 5:30 a.m. Monday. The race was his second attempt at Fort Kent. He finished 10th in 1991.

“This has been a fantastic race,” he said after crossing the finish line. “I passed Weik a long time ago.”

Weik, a landscaper from Minnesota, was also passed five miles from the finish line by Langmaid, a kennel operator from Blacksrock, Ontario. Langmaid finished third and Weik was fourth.

Three mushers were on the trail between Allagash and Fort Kent Monday afternoon, four others were resting in Allagash and five others were on the way to Allagash from the checkpoint at the Maibec lumber camp in northwestern Maine.

Don Hibbs of Millinocket, a three-time Can-Am Crown 250-mile champion, scratched from the competition late Saturday afternoon with dog problems.

One of the local favorites, Larry Murphy of Fort Kent, scratched from the competition early Monday morning before reaching the third checkpoint of the race. Andy Nissley of Sherman Mills scratched from the competition because of illness Saturday; J.R. Anderson scratched before reaching Allagash Sunday; and Bill Mattot of Manchester, N.H., scratched Monday along With Stephen Hessert of Cumberland. Scott Smith of Dubois, Wyo., never showed up for the race.