A gleeful Wærner greeted the crowd when he came alone to Alta after 1200 kilometers in Finnmarksvidda, passing in a week’s time. He was several hours ahead of the nearest competitor.
Wærner, considered one of the best dog handlers in the world, had nine of the 14 dogs on the team when he crossed the finish line in Alta at 7.46pm on Friday.
Initial management
This is the third time Wærner has won a Finnmark race. He was also the first to win the Femund race and the Finnmark race twice in the same year.
– It’s very special, Wærner told NRK after he finished.
Wærner took the lead for the first time after a day and a half of driving on Saturday and has largely had control of the lead since.
Conditions throughout the year are very harsh, not least because the weather is very hot.
– It’s a tough race because of the difficult tracks, but also really fantastic,
Everything for dogs
It was an exciting final match for the 49-year-old, as no one followed him from the final checkpoint.
He describes the success of the last few years in this way:
– I have a lot of focus on dogs, and then I think I’m not so afraid of losing. I do what I think is best for dogs all the time, he says.
Wærner also won the Iditarod – the longest dog race in the world – in 2020.
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