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German rookie wins 2019 Yukon Quest red lantern

Hendrik Stachnau was the last musher to cross the finish line
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Rookie Hendrik Stachnau of Hamburg, Germany, pushes his team past a crowd of people near the start line of the Yukon Quest in Whitehorse on Feb. 2. Stachnau was the 2019 red lantern, officially ending the race at 6:14 a.m. local time on Feb. 15. (John Hopkins-Hill/Yukon News)

The 2019 Yukon Quest officially concluded on Feb. 14 when German rookie Hendrik Stachnau crossed the finish line where Nordale Road crosses the Chena River, approximately 23 kilometres outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, at 10:14 p.m.

Due to an eight-hour time penalty assessed to Stachnau earlier in the race, his official finish time is 6:14 a.m. on Feb. 15.

Stachnau is the last of 27 mushers to finish the race, earning himself the red lantern for 2019.

He and his team were part of a group of 12 mushers that crossed the finish line on Feb. 14.

Brent Sass of Eureka, Alaska, won the race — his second Yukon Quest victory — on Feb. 11 when he reached the original finish line in downtown Fairbanks at 12:40 p.m.

Four Canadians, including three Yukoners, were in the top 10.

Four-time winner Hans Gatt was second and 10 Mile’s Michelle Phillips was fourth. Denis Tremblay, a veteran musher from Quebec, was eighth and last year’s red lantern, Nathaniel Hamlyn, rounded out the top 10.

Other Canadian finishes included two Dawsonites — Brian Wilmshurst in 13th and Jason Biasetti in 17th — as well as Mount Lorne’s Rob Cooke in 19th and rookie Remy Leduc of Glenwood, N.B., in 21st.

This year’s total purse was $115,000 U.S., with $21,769.50 (18.93 per cent) going to the winner.

The top 15 mushers all received a portion of the prize purse.

Of a starting field of 30, 27 reached the finish line this year — a stark contrast to last year’s race when only 13 out of 26 mushers finished the race.

Contact John Hopkins-Hill at John.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com