For the fourth time as teammates, Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad are Iron Dog champions. The veteran team thundered into the parking lot of Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks to screaming fans and applause as their families waited at the end of the chute.
The win secured the veteran duo a place in Iron Dog history as they became the winningest pairing in the event’s 41-year history. With the victory, they surpassed the three consecutive wins by John Faeo and Dan Zipay from 1986 to 1988, as well as the three straight titles earned by Scott Davis and Mark Carr from 1997 to 1999.
Aklestad and Olstad’s carbon fiber clad Ski-Doos navigated the Iron Dog’s 2,318 mile course with an unofficial time of 51:25:26, good for an average course speed of 45.08 mph.
"This one is going to have a lot of stories that go with it, but it feels good to be here and feels good to be here first," Aklestad said moments after crossing the finish line.
This year’s course set off from Big Lake and made stops in Kotzebue and Nome before heading east to Fairbanks for the finish. There were 23 official village checkpoints along with numerous unofficial village stops like Golovin near Western Alaska’s Norton Sound.
The race story
A challenging 25-mile stretch of trail between the Elim checkpoint and Golovin was a turning point in this year’s race. Shifting shorefast ice near Elim forced teams to take an overland trail, rather than across the ice, for safety. The less commonly used portage trail weaved through trees and had fresh, powdery snow team 3’s Steffen Booth reported was “up to your chin” at times.
Team 14’s Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie were the first of the Pro Class teams to hit the powdery section of trail around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday. A pileup of Pro Class teams ensued as the group floundered along with racers from the non-competitive Expedition Class and Ambassador team. By the time Boylan and Leslie returned to normal race speed, over seven hours had elapsed.
Meanwhile, Aklestad and Olstad hung back in Koyuk. They declared a two hour layover, then took additional one and six hour layovers while half of the pack worked in the trail ahead.
The tough trail conditions punished Boylan and Leslie, who left Kotzebue earlier that morning as race leaders. By the time the entire pack arrived in Nome, Boylan and Leslie fell to fifth position while Aklestad and Olstad jumped into first.
It was a relatively uneventful run to Fairbanks for the new front-runners. Aklestad and Olstad were first to depart Nome Friday morning and cruised through 679 course miles to Manley Hot Springs to end the day. The team set their fastest split of the race between the Ruby and Bible Camp checkpoints at a brisk 82.27 mph.
Team 5’s Thomas Davis and Zack Weisz came across the finish line in second – career-bests for both racers. The Ski-Doo riders' race was defined by consistency and gradual gains, opening as seventh fastest through the Whiskey Bravo checkpoint then steadily making up places throughout the race. This was the duo's second time teaming up for the Iron Dog.
Team 10’s Chris Olds and Ryan Sottosanti rounded out the podium with a third place finish. Olds is a four-time Iron Dog champion and last won in 2019 with Mike Morgan. This was Olds' third trip to the podium this decade after securing second in the 2020 and 2022 competitions.
Into the history books
The 2026 victory put Olstad level with Iron Dog legends Scott Davis and John Faeo for all-time wins at seven total.
Olstad’s first Iron Dog win came in 2005 when he was a rookie. He went on to win with Todd Minnick in 2009 and 2014 before teaming with Aklestad for the pairing’s first win as a team in 2020. Olstad and Aklestad repeated in 2022 and 2023.
They looked to three-peat in 2024, but had to scratch after Aklestad’s sled took irreparable damage. Olstad dropped out of the 2025 race to nurse an injury.
For 2025, Aklestad instead paired up with rookie Aaron Loyer and finished in third.
Aklestad’s fifth Iron Dog title places him among six racers in Iron Dog history to reach that mark.
This was Olstad’s fourth win on a Ski-Doo, which puts the Canadian snowmachine manufacturer at 10 total Iron Dog wins – just one less than Arctic Cat. Polaris still sits at the top with 18 total race wins. Olstad has raced – and won – on all three brands.
