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For the second year in a row, a sprint to the finish line saw competitors pedal for every inch of pavement on the hard-fought final leg of the 240-km Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay.

Jonah Clark, owner of Whitehorse's Icycle Sport bike shop, won Saturday's race by just four seconds, beating out fellow Yukoner Derek Crowe for the honour.

The win notched a third victory in Clark's cycling belt as a solo rider, and his second consecutive Haines-to-Haines triumph; last year he biked the first half of the race on a two-man team with David Gonda, who rolled through the finish line first.

Yukoners took gold, silver and bronze this year, with a Whitehorse-based two-man duo, "Team Foosball,鈥� placing third overall in 7:32:21.

Clark, 37, fought brutal headwinds almost all the way from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska, clocking in at 7:31:56, a few metre sticks ahead of Crowe's two-man team. He beat out the second-place solo rider by nearly 17 minutes.

"It was hard,鈥� Clark said. "There was a headwind all the way from the start ... but I got to ride with people the whole way and managed to measure my effort and put out a big effort where it counted.鈥�

He noted that for solo riders, leg five of the hilly course can be the toughest. It arrives 120 km into the race after an extended uphill stretch and often offers up a heavy dose of wind.

"It's where your body starts to really feel the distance and it's difficult to manage eating enough food, getting enough water so you don't cramp, that kind of thing,鈥� he said.

Last year Clark's winning team that squeaked out their first-place finish won by less than a second.

Their winning time of 5:57:21 鈥� less than two minutes off the course record 鈥� highlights the drastic difference in conditions between last year's race and this one.

Participants enjoyed tailwinds and warm weather in 2013, a far cry from the gusty onslaught they faced beneath clouds, cool temperatures and occasional showers, as well as some sunshine, last Saturday.

The relay, now in its 22nd year, saw more than 1,300 riders and 320 teams rolling through the scenic route, which runs north to south along the Haines Highway and borders Kluane National Park and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park.

The competition featured cyclists from across North America and beyond, with biking ambassadors from as far away as Arizona, Ireland and New Zealand.

Clark's win marks the second year in a row a Yukoner has reigned victorious. His two-man team beat defending solo champion Brett Boniface of B.C. last year.

Clark, who has done the race every year since moving to Whitehorse in 2005, has not done the race solo in four years.

"I've done it solo five times,鈥� he said. "I'm not sure why.鈥�

This year he rode a Cervelo S5, and the lightweight, aerodynamic frame helped him cut through the breeze.

"Because of the headwind it really doesn't make much sense to try to ride by yourself,鈥� Clark noted.

He rode with five other cyclists for a portion of the race, drafting and trading off at the lead spot.

Several riders dropped off throughout the second half, "and then it ended up being me and two other guys who were on two-person teams finishing together,鈥� Clark said.

"Basically it ended up a sprint in the last 100 metres. And I managed to pull something out of the reserves for the last little bit and crossed the line first.鈥�

He had only praise for the group behind the event, the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Association.

"The organization this year was really good ... there was less traffic and less of a pile-up of vehicles and riders,鈥� Clark said. "Overall it's an amazing event and it's really cool that it's been going on this long. I'm just happy to be part of it.鈥�

Finishing first among four-person teams was Whitehorse's "BIKE..for your RIGHT..to鈥� in 7:45:32, who won their category by nearly half an hour.

The "Sockeye Cyclists鈥� from Skagway won the eight-person category in 9:21:22.