From a total of 1,255 starters, two young Whitehorse riders powered through from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska in just over six hours to win the 16th Annual Kluane to Chilkat International Bike Relay.

Jesse Reams and Daniel Sessford, were the first two-person Men's team across the finish line, and were the overall winners.

Amazingly, after 245 kilometres on the spectacular Haines Highway, and through some very wet weather, only 13 seconds separated the first three teams.

Six seconds out of first was the team of Matt Novakovich and John Bursell from Juneau. Seven seconds later, Jonah Clark and Ian Parker finished in third.

A total of 30 solo riders, including 23 men and seven women, raced the full distance.

The fastest man was Jeff Oatley, who was only 18 minutes behind the winning team. Rob Welton, the president of the KCIBR finished in an impressive 6th place in the solo men's category.

Kerrie Paterson won the solo women's category. The 255 teams started in Haines Junction on a very sunny but cool Saturday morning. Four-person teams started at 8:30 a.m. sharp, shortly after the highway was closed down for a two hour period.

The solo riders, and two-person teams left the Junction at 8:45 a.m. The eight person teams left in two waves, the first at 9 a.m. and the rest at 9:15 a.m.

The fast teams ran into rain at the summit but most riders were getting wet on the third and fourth legs of the relay.

Rain persisted through legs five and six but most bikers arrived in Haines on dry pavement and some sunny breaks. There was a northerly, tail wind for legs one through four but the south winds picked up for the last half of the race and made it very cool for the soaked riders descending from the summit.

Heather Best and Gail Koepf of Fairbanks won the two-person womens category.

The two-person mixed category was taken by the team of Robert Sowers and Janice Sheufeldt. Whitehorse teams came in second and third. The second place finishers, only 30 seconds out of first, were Jillian Chown and Troy Henry.

Third place was taken by the husband and wife team of Scott Puskas and Leslie Raenden.

Riders came from Yukon, Alaska, Alberta, B.C., and from as far away as Germany and New Zealand.

The youngest team was the Lean Mean Green Squad Team made up of Holly Bull, Katie Peters, Emily Wilson Alejandro Peters, Michaela St-Pierre, Trevor Bray, Odette Rivard and Moya Painter. They finished the race with a time of 11 hours and nine minutes.

Veteran cyclist Mike McCann rode the first two legs and led a pack of eight riders into checkpoint one. McCann, as usual, held his own in a pack that included Ryan Burlingame who is at least 40 years younger.

"Ryan rode like a veteran," said McCann. "He shared the work and was positive, and as usual, he was upbeat, even in the intensity of the lead pack. Ryan is a cyclist to watch for in future years."

An international volunteer effort of Yukoners and Alaskans staffed the checkpoints, and helped with pre-race preparations and post-race clean-up. The Yukon division of the Canadian Ski Patrol and the Yukon Amateur Radio Association contributed first aid and emergency communication services respectively.

Checkpoint volunteers were very happy with the SI timing system as it allowed them to interact more with the riders and other volunteers. There was a more relaxed atmosphere at all checkpoints.

The most colourful volunteers had to be the Canadian sweep team of Bill Horsey and Mike Deasty from Haines Junction.

For the 12th year in a row, they followed along with flashing lights and smoking barbecue to ensure that the last rider was as well cared for as the winner. They are one example of the dependability of many volunteers who have ensured that the event runs smoothly every year.

The KCIBR Board awarded volunteer efforts with $1,000 donations to the following community organizations: Yukon Amateur Hockey Association, Lyrical Hounds Association, Swim Yukon, Haines Hospice, Haines Cross Country Running team and the Yukon Amateur Radio Association.

A disqualification marred an otherwise flawless event. A solo rider who could have won his category had to be dq'd because of rule infractions that included receiving team support from a moving vehicle and being paced by a support vehicle.