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10 A.M. UPDATE:
As many of the biggest names in dog mushing sleep in the Manley school gym, 2013 champion Mitch Seavey and Pete Kaiser of Bethel have pushed through the checkpoint en route to Tanana.
Official race standings show that Kaiser arrived at 7:49 a.m. and left just nine minutes later, the first musher to launch from the checkpoint. Seavey followed close behind, arriving at 8:28 a.m. and leaving at 8:38 a.m., with Jessie Royer in at 8:44 a.m. and out at 8:55 a.m.
The quick turns spurred the first mushers taking longer stops in Manley to get back onto the trail, with Martin Buser and Hugh Neff leaving after just over five hours apiece at the checkpoint.
The top five:
1. Pete Kaiser (bib No. 54.) Departed Manley at 7:58 a.m.
2. Mitch Seavey (bib No. 18.) Departed Manley at 8:38 a.m.
3. Jessie Royer (bib No. 3.) Departed Manley at 8:55 a.m.
4. Martin Buser (bib No. 4.) Departed Manley at 9:14 a.m.
5. Hugh Neff (bib No. 24.) Departed Manley at 9:17 a.m.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, only one more musher — Aaron Burmeister, out at 9:38 a.m. after arriving in Manley at 4:59 a.m. — was beyond the checkpoint.
…
6 A.M. UPDATE:
Martin Buser (bib No. 4) arrived in Manley an hour and nine minutes after Petit, followed by Hugh Neff, DeeDee Jonrowe and Aaron Burmeister.
Petit said he never intended to be at the front of the pack and had even considered taking his 24-hour rest in Nenana to simplify the race for his puppy team. His front-runner status likely won’t last, he said.
At 25-below, the checkpoint feels a world away from the spring-like, snowless streets of Anchorage where the ceremonial start began just days ago. Still, it’s early and race positions are being influenced by how early or late the musher left the chute in Fairbanks.
Here is the top five as of 6:30 a.m.
1. Nicolas Petit (bib No. 12.) Arrived at Manley at 3:01 a.m.
2. Martin Buser (bib No. 4.) Arrived at Manley at 4:10 a.m.
3. Hugh Neff (bib No. 24.) Arrived at Manley at 4:14 a.m.
4. DeeDee Jonrowe (bib No. 29.) Arrived at Manley at 4:32 a.m.
5. Aaron Burmeister (bib No. 63.) Arrived at Manley at 4:50 a.m.
Nicolas Petit led the 78-musher Iditarod field into cold and crunchy Manley Hot Springs this morning, happy with the trail on this non-conventional route.
“I thought there would be a lot more rivers,” he said after teasing the official time keeper, who clocked him into the tiny roadhouse town at 3:01 a.m.
“What’s your bib number,” the official asked. “Twelve,” Petit said. “My mental age.”
Petite arrived under emerald northern lights, low on the horizon, his team’s whiskers caked in ice.
The 35-year-old Girdwood racer’s best Iditarod finish came in 2013, when he leaped to 6th place and won the most improved musher award.
Nicolas Petit lors du départ à Fairbanks de l'Iditarod 2015
 Le musher français Nicolas Petit (dossard 12) est arrivé premier à Manley Hot Springs, le deuxième checkpoint de l'Iditarod , une course de chiens de traîneau de  en Alaska. Petit est arrivé à 3 h du matin. Martin Buser (dossard 4), qui avait été premier au checkpoint de Nenana l'a rejoint une heure et 9 minutes après, suivi par Hugh Neff (dossard 24), DeeDee Jonrowe (dossard 29) et Aaron Burmeister (dossard 63).

C'est cependant Peter Kaiser (dossard 54) qui a quitté  le premier : arrivé à 7 h 49 (heure locale) il en est reparti moins d'une dizaine de minutes plus tard. Mitch Seavey a fait le même choix et a pris la deuxième place. Les températures sont considérablement descendues dans la région ces derniers jours, ce qui a permis d'avoir une piste convenablement enneigée. Martin Buser est reparti du checkpoint sans avoir mis de booties à ses chiens : cela permet à son attelage d'aller un peu plus vite mais ses chiens sont aussi plus susceptibles d'être blessés par la glace se cristallisant sous leurs pattes.