DAWSON CITY This year's Yukon Quest will not be finishing in Whitehorse.

Race marshall Mike McCowan announced this morning that the usually 1,600-kilometre race will not be crossing the finish line in the Yukon's capital.

Continued warm weather and poor trail conditions have left little snow on the run leading into the city.

McCowan said he will publicly announce where the race will be ending this afternoon, after he's had the opportunity to speak with the remaining 13 mushers individually. A closed meeting with the teams was scheduled for 1 p.m.

Veteran musher William Kleedehn said Wednesday he was 70-per-cent certain the race's trail would see some sort of change on the Canadian side of the border.

The last time the Quest didn't end in Whitehorse was in 2000, when poor conditions on the Yukon River pushed the finish line back to the Takhini Hot Springs.

A shorter trail, or the possibility of trucking the dogs, can severely change a musher's strategy, Kleedehn previously told the Star.

'If I had, for example, known a little sooner about the trail conditions, that chances would be high that we would truck a few hundred miles of this, then I may would have trained a little different or picked a few different dogs,' he said.

The biggest trail challenge from Dawson to Whitehorse is always lack of snow, he said.

'Under normal conditions, it's a pretty straightforward run from Dawson to Whitehorse, so if you're a little bit behind and your team has some strength, a guy that is too far in front can just get away from you.'

Kleedehn arrived in Dawson City in second place at 4:16 pm. Thursday.

Last year's winner, Lance Mackey, had arrived at 2:47 p.m.

However, their actual run times were very close, with Kleedehn taking approximately 24 hours and 11 minutes to complete the 237-km section. Mackey took about 23 hours and 12 minutes.

In last year's race, Kleedehn lost to Mackey by only eight minutes.

'There will be a hell of a race going on towards Dawson, because you don't want to leave a few hours behind anybody,' said Kleedehn.

Those few hours can make a big difference, he said.

'You will be basically racing all-out. There is no way you can do anything with strategy anymore,' he said.

'In a race like the Quest, you don't expect to race like that. You train different too, you don't train your dogs to that degree.'

But at the Eagle, Alaska checkpoint on Wednesday, Kleedehn said he didn't have any concerns about the possibility of the trail being changed.

'If the conditions aren't good enough to go there, we shouldn't be mushing there,' he said. 'It's good news.'