New Hampshire musher wins 3rd Can-Am Crown

The Associated Press

Posted March 08, 2010, at 12:36 p.m.
Last modified Jan. 27, 2011, at 8:58 a.m.

Bangor Daily News | BDN

New Hampshire musher Matt Carstens (left) is all smiles after winning his second straight Irving Woodlands Can Am Crown International 250 Sled Dog Race Monday morning, March 8, 2010, in Fort Kent. Carstens crossed the finish line at 3:15 a.m., with a running time of just over 26 hours from his Main Street start on Saturday. (Photo by Julia Bayly) Buy Photo

FORT KENT, Maine — New Hampshire musher Matt Carstens won his third Can-Am Crown on Monday, posting the third-fastest finish in the 250-mile sled dog race across northern Maine despite warm conditions.

Carstens, of Whitefield, N.H., crossed the finish line at 3:15 a.m., completing the race in 26 hours, 3 minutes, 30 seconds, about 90 minutes off the fastest time, recorded in 2001. Carstens also won last year and in 2006.

Ryan Anderson of Ray, Minn., was second, about 15 minutes behind the winner, and Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm, Minn., took third.

Temperatures nudged toward 50 degrees Sunday, but trail conditions held up and the dog teams, accustomed to racing in colder weather, didn’t seem bothered, race official Beurmond Banville said.

The race took more than a dozen dog sled teams across the wilderness of northern Maine, a region known for its ruggedness and harsh winters.

Race conditions have varied since the first Can-Am in 1993, when the temperature plunged to 33 below. A year later, temperatures hit 62 degrees.

Carstens’ third win in five years moved him closer to two four-time winners of the Can-AM: Andre Nadeau of Melanie, Quebec, and Martin Massicotte, of St. Tite, Quebec. Don Tibbs of Millinocket, Maine, is also a three-time winner.