St. John Valley Times - March 9, 2005
FORT KENT- Martin Massicotte beat out 30 other teams to claim victory in the Irving Woodlands Can-Am 250-mile race for the second time on Monday. The Quebec musher came in second in last year's Can-Am and won the race in 1998.
He and his team crossed the finish line at 1:34 p.m.
Massicotte was in the top of the pack for much of the race and was the first team into the Maibec checkpoint, the third stop along the 250 mile trail. There the teams bunched up as they took their remaining mandatory layover times left before Allagash. Massicotte stayed at Maibec for about six hours, resting his team and himself and managing to overtake several other tired teams who had left Maibec before him.
Heavy snow made the going slow at times for the mushers, and teams were still finishing into Monday night and on into Tuesday.
Thirty-six year old Massicotte, of Ste Tite, Quebec, has been a competitive contender in the Can-Am for several years. He came in third in 1996, first in 1998, third in 1999 and second' last year. This year he came to Fort Kent after racing in the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest.
Rene Marchildon of South River, Ontario, took second place, arriving at the finish line at 2:50 p.m. with third place winner Normand Casavant of Val des Lac, Quebec coming in about an hour later at 3:46.
The next mushers to arrive at the finish line of the grueling race came in within minutes of each other.
Amy Dugan of Shirley was the first Mainer to finish the race, arriving at the finish line at 4:02, followed by 2003 third place finisher Stephane Duplessis arrived just four minutes after Dugan. Minnesotan Ward Wallin .came in just one minute after Duplessis, followed by Andre Longchamps just a minute behind him. Millinocket's Don Hibbs, winner of the Can-Am 250 three times, followed in eighth place.
By Monday night a few teams were still making their weary way to Allagash and others were breaking trail through the thick snow on their way to Fort Kent.
The 2005 Can-Am races are the biggest yet in the event's 13 year history. Ninety teams competed in the 30, 60 and .2S0-mile races, including six local mushers. Thousands of spectators crowded Fort Kent's Main Street to catch the start of the three races on Saturday.