DAWSON CITY From the whooping and back slapping at Diamond Tooth Gerties on Saturday night, it was clear that all eight teams who finished the more than 2,000-kilometre, week-long Fulda Challenge felt themselves to be winners of sorts.

The U.S. team pulled out of the race after an accident on the Carcross Road sidelined the team from Great Britain in the first week of competition. Still, someone had to come out on top and this year it was the Italian team of Werner Haller and Judith Lanthaler, who surpassed the Canadian team of Thomas Tetz and Tamara Goeppel by a margin of just three points, winning 162 to 159.

The third place team was the Netherlands pair of Meike Pittius and Pieter Groen, well away from the top two with a score of 145.

The standings were similar in the male and female categories, with Goeppel (78) as the top woman over Lanthaler (75) by three points and Haller (79) edging past Tetz (74) by a margin of five.

Events along the trail, from Whitehorse to Skagway and north to Eagle Plains, included a mountain bike race out of Skagway, downhill canoe racing, a hovercraft race on a frozen lake, dog sled and stock car racing in Yukon forests, a tire changing relay, a half-marathon on the Dempster Highway, and some long days of driving.

To top it all off, the contestants have to spend the 10 day event sleeping in tents once they leave Whitehorse, until their two nights in Dawson City.

There wasn't actually a sports event in Dawson this year, although they staged a fast-paced, slippery 'round the block ATV race for the celebrity team of Joe Kelly and Jutta Kleinschmidt, two professionals who were just about in the middle of the pack throughout most of the actual races. Other contestants participated as well, having already driven to Dawson from Eagle Plains earlier that day.

It was brisk exercise in the -40 C weather, which left a number of spectators complaining that the batteries in their digital cameras and videocams died way too soon.

In his remarks to the group, Klondike MLA Peter Jenkins drew attention to the founding of the Fulda company, which was established in 1900, in between the Klondike Gold Rush and the granting of Dawson's town charter. Jenkins spoke before the banquet, which he advised the Fulda organizers wasn't a great idea.

'Politicians usually give people indigestion,' he joked.

Jenkins noted that no matter who made the tires, anyone driving anywhere today would have found their wheels square at these temperatures. He gave a brief overview of the history of the area, mentioning that at one time 40,000 people lived in the Klondike. It turns out that there was a connection there, too.

'40,000 is the number, that I'm given to understand, applied to come here and partake in this wonderful event,' he said, meaning the Fulda challenge.

'That in itself is significant ladies and gentlemen.'

Jenkins' only complaint about the whole event was a personal one, which he hoped the RCMP in attendance would not note when he mentioned it.

'I do have trouble passing some of you on the highway on the way back to Dawson from time to time. It's getting more and more difficult. You have some very capable drivers amongst your groups.'

Jenkins is known for his quick driving time between Dawson and Whitehorse.

The evening continued with the meal, some of which was country food supplied by Ancient Voices, presentation of awards, speeches and an evening of dancing.

As for local appreciation of the Fulda Challenge, the owner of the Downtown Hotel summed it up nicely.

'We love Fulda,' said Dick Van Nostrand, with co-owner Joanne nodding beside him.