There's still more than 400 kilometres to go in the 2007 Yukon River Quest (YRQ), but so far it appears the predictions of race insiders are coming true.

Texas voyageur team Coureur des Bayou was the first team into Carmacks at 7:30 this morning.

Fourteen minutes later, Canadian voyageur crew Kisseynew pulled into the mandatory seven-hour layover point.

Those two teams have a sizeable lead on their next closest competitor, solo kayaker Andrew Jillings, aka Tractor Boy. Jillings arrived in Carmacks at 9:14 a.m.

Rounding out the top five were voyageurs Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt and the Saint Lawrence Valley Paddlers, arriving at 9:16 and 9:19 a.m. respectively.

Holding down four of the top five spots, the voyageur canoes are proving this really is their year in the YRQ.

Many people were calling a voyageur battle to the finish for the top prize money right from the start, and some knew it would be Coureur des Bayou and Kisseynew with the best chance to become the race's first overall winner in a voyageur.

While the Texans are certainly on a blistering pace, they're not on a record pace so far. Last year, eventual overall winners Brandon Nelson and David Kelly reached Carmacks about an hour earlier.

As of noon today, nine teams had reached Carmacks.

Three teams have already scratched from this year's race, including the Whitehorse duo of Tom Fulop and Kim Nadeau. Fulop and Nadeu, paddling in the tandem mixed canoe category, were the youngest team this year, at 16 and 17 years old respectively.

Also scratching were mixed canoeists Team Atlin, Robert and Jody Smallwood, and women's tandem canoe squad MaDrfx, Margrit Chang and Maya Nadine Chang.

All of the remaining teams will rest in Carmacks for seven mandatory hours before continuing on to Fort Selkirk, Kirkman Creek and, eventually, the finish line in Dawson City.

The first team is expected into Dawson Friday afternoon.

The Star will have full coverage throughout the Yukon River Quest.