A Frenchman continues to lead this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Nicolas Petit was the first musher Saturday to leave the checkpoint at Eagle Island, about 592 miles (953 kilometers) into the 1,000 mile (1609 kilometer) race across the Alaska wilderness to Nome.

Petit, who was last year’s runner-up, now lives in Girdwood, Alaska, a town known more for downhill skiing than mushing. Girdwood is about 40 miles south of Anchorage.

He left about five hours of ahead of the defending champion, Norwegian Joar Ulsom, and Alaskan Pete Kaiser. Seven other mushers also have left Eagle Island.

Every musher must take an eight-hour break at a checkpoint somewhere along the Yukon River. Among the top three, Petit and Ulsom have taken that mandatory rest, but Kaiser has not.
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