Basinger headed toward finish line

But he wasn't alone.

Fairbanks cyclist Jeff Oatley was on the same trail an hour and a half later, hoping to chase down his friend over the last 50 miles on the comparatively easy snow-packed route to the McGrath finish line.

For the two endurance specialists, there was a sense of deja vu.

A month ago, at the 135-mile Arrowhead race starting in International Falls, Minn., Oatley nipped Basinger at the finish line by 10 seconds.

That race didn't feature the tropical temperatures of this year's Iditarod Invitational, however. Racers in Minnesota began at minus-21 -- or some 60 degrees cooler than it's been during portions of the Invitational.

Basinger pulled out of Nikolai at 4:50 p.m., with Oatley leaving at 6:19 p.m. Basinger's race record time of 3 days, 5 hours, 40 minutes, set in 2007, wasn't in jeopardy, and race officials expected a winner shortly after midnight.

After refueling with a meal in Nikolai, Basinger was back on his bike.

"I think what it depends on is who got more rest," co-race director Kathi Merchant said about who might win. "Pete napped four hours on Burn. Jeff has been pushing hard."

Basinger told Merchant the tussock-strewn ground of the Burn was rideable, but the going was so slow it was often better to walk.

Temperatures lowered a bit to slip below freezing Wednesday, but remained unseasonably warm.

"It's really warm and it's lasted a long time," said Merchant, whose husband Bill is the other co-race director. "There was steam coming off the bikers as they were pushing to Puntilla, heading for the cabin at Shell Lake."

Even if he finishes second, Oatley's race should be less painful than last year's victory, when a wicked winter storm shut down racers for days. It took the Fairbanks biker 5 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes to reach McGrath. Basinger skied last year, finishing in 6 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes.

A pack of three runners -- Eric Johnson, Tom Harding and Glenn Mackie -- were the leading foot soldiers checking out of Rainy Pass together just before noon.

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.

Iditarod Trail Invitational

Wednesday Night Standings

Out of Nikolai -- 1) Pete Basinger, bike, 4:50 p.m.; 2) Jeff Oatley, bike, 6:19 p.m.

Out of Rohn -- 3) Jay Petervary, bike, 4:13 p.m. Tuesday; 4) Phil Hofstetter, bike, 10:42 p.m. Tuesday; 5) Tim Stern, bike, 11:30 p.m. Tuesday; 6) Sean Grady, bike, 12:29 a.m.; 7) Louise Kobin, bike, 12:50 a.m.; 8) Eric Warkentin, bike, 12:50 a.m.; 9) Dave Pramann, bike, 4:55 a.m.; 10) Brij Potnis, bike, 4:55 a.m.; 11) Kyle Amstadter, bike, 4:55 a.m.; 12) Simon Honore, bike, 4:55 a.m.; 13) Nicola Ghiraldo, bike, 4:55 a.m.; 14) Tracey Petervary, bike, 4:55 a.m.