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Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by freelancer

UNBEATEN 鈥 Darryl Sheepway and Grizzly scream down the trail en route to another win in the one-mile category. Photo by AMY鈥圴ANDER鈥圵IER

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

QUICK鈥圫TART 鈥 Jean-Marc Champeval and his huskies bust out of the start chute yesterday in Mount Lorne.

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

RACE ROOKIE 鈥 Matt Sider competed in both the one-mile and two-mile bikejor events for the first time yesterday.

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

HOMESTRETCH 鈥 Alexandra Rochat and her dog teamed up to finish the one-mile canicross event in 5:23.

Sheepway, Grizzly breeze to third straight win

Darryl Sheepway and his nine-year-old husky-hound, Grizzly, sped to another victory on the summer recreational mushing circuit yesterday.

By Marcel Vander Wier on July 28, 2014

Darryl Sheepway and his nine-year-old husky-hound, Grizzly, sped to another victory on the summer recreational mushing circuit yesterday.

The duo teamed up to win their third straight one-mile bikejor race, this time at Mount Lorne in a time of two minutes, 39 seconds.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the third win this season,鈥 the 36-year-old Sheepway said post-race. 鈥淚鈥檇 really like to go undefeated.鈥

Sheepway, who is also the new president of the Dog Powered Sports Association of the Yukon (DPSAY), has won all three Hot Hounds one-mile races this summer.

Behind Sheepway, Jean-Marc Champeval and Virginia Sarrazin finished in a tie in 2:50.

Yesterday, his team was also the quickest team to navigate a tricky a two-mile trail, giving Sheepway victories in both bikejor races.

Sheepway and his two huskies 鈥 the seven-year veteran Fry and two-year-old pup Salmo 鈥 finished in 9:37, a minute and a half ahead of runner-up Champeval.

Martin Haefele finished third with a time of 12:08.

The canicross event also saw a three-peat winner, with Sarrazin and her two-year-old pup, Spike, crossing the line in 3:35, ahead of rivals Simi Morrison and Alexandra Rochat.

The 37-year-old runner said being pulled through a run is a unique experience. With a dog attached to her waist via harness, the speed of the team is essentially determined by how quickly Sarrazin can move her legs.

鈥淵ou have to keep up,鈥濃圫arrazin said. 鈥淎nd you couldn鈥檛 do long distance this way.鈥

Sarrazin typically competes in both bikejor and canicross events, but said she feels more connected to her dog during the canicross competitions.

Yesterday鈥檚 evening event saw 11 different mushers compete, many in multiple races.

Sheepway said the community of racers continues to grow slightly.

鈥淭his time we got a few new people out,鈥 he said, pointing to race rookies Matt Sider and Heather Robb, both of whom competed in bikejor events. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e shooting for.鈥

Sheepway and the DPSAY board has made it their mission to expand its membership at the grassroots level.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to appeal these summer events to beginners and draw people to races,鈥濃坔e said. 鈥淲e want people to know we鈥檙e not exclusively a mushers鈥 club. We hold a lot of recreational events in summer and winter and we want to draw more people with pet dogs.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to have a big investment to be a part of this. It鈥檚 just something we do.鈥

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