Allen Moore winner of Yukon Quest sled dog race 2014

Allen Moore crossed the finish line at Takhini Hot Springs, Yukon, early Monday morning, making him the winner of the Yukon Quest International Dog Sled Race for the second year in a row.

Moore, from Two Rivers, Alaska, arrived at the finish line at 3:12 a.m. PT.

Two mushers, Moore and Brent Sass, from Eureka, Alaska, were neck and neck for most of the race passing one another at a nail-biting pace. But, Sass was struck down in a race-ending fall on the path between the Carmacks and Braeburn checkpoints. Sass was assisted off the trail by Canadian Rangers and later air-lifted to Whitehorse for medical attention with concerns about a possible head injury.

Sass’s team Wild and Free Mushing posted on Facebook that their musher is out of the hospital and doing well.

Moore said that he is disappointed Sass had to drop out of the Quest after his mishap on the trail and said that they were in the midst of an exciting race.

“We're in this for the racing, so we like to race, and who better to race than Brent? We would have been neck and neck for sure. We would have been really close together,” said Moore.

Moore was resting ahead of Sass at the time of the fall and delayed his departure from the last checkpoint to see his race-mate off as Sass was taken to Whitehorse.

Now that all the focus is off of the two front-runners, the dog sledding community turns to those vying for second and third place.

Hugh Neff, from Tok, Alaska, is 27 kilometres from the finish line and Matt Hall from Two Rivers, Alaska is currently resting at Carmacks.

After two wins under his belt, Moore said that he won't decide until summer whether to attempt a third straight win next year.

The 1,600-kilometre journey began Feb. 1 in in Fairbanks, Alaska.