Oda Karlstrøm at Joatkajavri, with Julian Mortensen one minute behind. (Photo: Steinar Karlstrøm)
This year’s junior mushers have raced faster than we thought they would in beforehand, and we expect the winner to cross the finish line at around 12:30 CET. Feel free to show up in Alta and welcome them in!
The junior mushers have put our predictions to shame. While we had estimated their finishing the race some time this afternoon, it now looks as if the first ones will be crossing the finish line in Alta some time around 12:30 CET today. Julian Mortensen and Oda Karlstrøm have been the frontrunners throughout the race, but there is not much time separating the five mushers in this class. At the first checkpoint (Jotka 1) there were only 25 minutes separating the first team from the last one.
Out on the final leg
Just before 10 a.m. this morning, Oda Karlstrøm could leave Jotka 2 as the first musher, one small minute ahead of her closest competitor Julian Mortensen. Runa Krempig has also hit the trails at the time of writing. However, there are 50 long kilometers on the trail from Jotka 2 to Alta, and much can happen along the way.
You can follow their progress on our GPS tracking and see the finish live on web TV if you are not located in Alta. Whoever comes first, and whoever comes next – we can hardly wait to welcome the FL-junior mushers to the finish line in Alta from 12:30 and onwards this afternoon!