A youth cycling team achieved a surprising result at the 2025 Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay on June 21, capturing first place in the eight-person team category with a commanding six-minute lead over the Whitehorse Fire Department.
The Yukon-based team, composed of seven teenagers competing under the moniker “the Yukon Dream Team,” competed in the 240-kilometre eight-leg relay from Haines Junction to Haines, Alaska, an endurance race typically dominated by adult competitors.
Behind the team’s standout performance were years of focused training led by coach Trina Irving, a longtime mentor with the U Kon Echelon Biking Club, an affiliate of the Cycling Association of Yukon. Thomas Luxemburger, whose sons rode the first two legs of the race, told the News that Irving played a key role in the team’s training and development.
"She's the coach that kind of had the program going and then a bunch of kids who did a lot of other sports together, growing up in the same cohort, heard about what Trina's offering with U Kon Echelon, and she said 'wow', these kids are really taking to these camps that we're running pretty seriously. We should put together a team for the Haines to Haines bike relay," Luxemburger said.
"That was three years ago. Anyhow, they've been doing great. They do a lot of training with Trina. She's an ex Olympian and they have specifically, hill climbing days and endurance days and long ride days."
Oskar Luxemburger set a confident time for the Yukon Dream Team's first leg of the race with a 46-minute time, approximately one minute and 20 seconds behind the Whitehorse Fire Department's Ryan Miller. His brother, Roger Luxemburger, followed with a one-hour-and-18-minute performance on the second leg, the fastest time recorded for leg two of the race in his division.
Charly Melin carried the momentum forward in leg three, completing the segment in under 58 minutes. Sam Boucher delivered a steady effort on the fourth leg, keeping the time difference manageable against the Whitehorse Fire Department by clocking in a time of one hour and 10 minutes
"There was some banter, some really good banter before the race, and then on leg five, one of our racers, Jack Belanger, he just cooked by the firefighter and that was it. They never recouped," Luxemburger said.
Belanger rode back-to-back segments in legs five and six of the race, extending the Yukon Dream Team’s lead over the Whitehorse Fire Department by 23 minutes for both legs. He completed leg five in one hour and nine minutes, followed by a 49-minute effort on leg six.
Alice Belanger tackled the seventh leg amid challenging conditions, as nearby construction stirred up dust and left sections of the route loose and gravel-strewn, Luxemburger said. Despite poor conditions, she maintained composure and pace by clocking in a time of one hour and 32 minutes on the seventh leg.
Max Labelle anchored the Yukon Dream Team’s final leg into Haines with a steady performance, clocking in at one hour and nine minutes. His effort edged out the Whitehorse Fire Department’s Chris Bridgeman, who completed the same segment in one hour and 13 minutes, sealing the team’s overall lead and securing their first-place finish.
Looking ahead, the team plans to return in 2026 with two squads to pursue a first-and-second-place sweep in the four-person division, Luxemburger said. Long-term, they hope to form a youth peloton and complete the full 240-kilometre course together under coach Irving’s guidance.
The Yukon Dream Team’s rise began not with the relay, but through early participation in U Kon Echelon Biking Club camps that drew together athletes from the same age groups. Luxemburger said the team had trained together for roughly five years before uniting under one banner for competition during this year's race.
"Generally, things went pretty smooth for these folks. They were prepared and they just went full tilt, and you know, we were, as parents, supporting them and giving them like kind of pace checks along the way and letting them know their times and stuff, and where they were in relation to the pack. But, yeah, it was a lot of fun cheering them on," Luxemburger said.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
