- Number of Alaskan Entrants: 7 (most ever)
- Number of Wheelchairs: 6 (the most since 1999)
- Number of first-time racers: 12
- Most competitive category: Handcycle B (9 entrants)
- Number of Hispanic Entrants: 7 (most ever)

The addition of a new category, Handcycle C2, keeps the race current, following trends overseas to offer more categories and create fair, exciting competition. The wheelchair category, which had been dwindling since 1999, has seen a resurgence in recent years, culminating in a very competitive field for 2007 that includes a rematch from 2006 between Paul Nunnari of Australia and Edwin Figueroa of Long Beach, Calif.

Four-time winner Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, Calif.) will be racing in the HCC2 category and will look to be the fastest man on the road this year, following his World Handcycling Title last fall. A victory this year would tie him with Monica Bascio for a record five wins. Albor will be battling his Paralympic teammate, Oz Sanchez of San Diego and newcomer Mike Sprouse of Georgia. Both Sprouse and Sanchez are former Marines, which should make the teamwork aspect of the event very interesting. With the Handcycle C division split, the HCC1 class looks very competitive…keep your eye on crafty veterans Scott Davidson and Joe Dowling, and watch for newcomer, Harold Warner of Tuscon, Ariz., in his first Sadler’s event.

The biggest and most competitive category this year is the Handcycle B race, with nine entrants. The favorite is two-time winner, Peer Bartels of Germany, but David Lee of Cardiff by the Sea, Calif. (2nd HCB in 2006) has a new bike and has been training hard to make the U.S. Paralympic Team. The race should be nothing short of nuclear.

The Alaskan field is awesome this year, and will showcase the return of Mark Hufford (Eagle River), as well as Edwin Jones of Anchorage. Jones will be competing for the first time in a handcycle and is joined by Larry Coutermarsh of North Pole, who will be racing for his 23rd year. Tack on three spry newcomers and the “Speedy Sourdough” (fastest Alaskan) prize looks to be up for grabs.

The women’s race will also be interesting this year, with Bascio off the radar, taking the season off. Four-time runner-up, Sherry Shulz of Littleton, Colo., will undoubtedly arrive well-prepared to square off with Katja Luke of Germany, who was third last year in the fastest women’s event in history. Also on board this year is Maria Luisa Morales Avila of Mexico City, who is a relative unknown in her first race in Alaska.

For more details, visit: http://www.challengealaska.org/.

2007 Field, Sadler’s Ultra Challenge, Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska

HCB

Patrick Cottini (Chico, Calif.)
Mike O’Neill (Anchorage, Alaska)
Ken Bestine (Clymer, N.Y.)
Rick Mason (Davis, Calif.)
David Lee (Cardiff Calif.)
Michael Stevenson (Nacogdoches, Texas)
Peer Bartels (Leer, Germany)
Gustavo Rojas (Sacramento, Calif.)
Mark Hufford (Eagle River, Alaska)

HCC1

Rick Gilliland (Kenai, Alaska)  
Scott Davidson (Shelby Township, Mich.)
Edwin Jones, Jr. (Anchorage, Alaska)
Joe Dowling (Old Greenwich, Conn.)
Brant Schalk (Fairbanks, Alaska)
Harold Warner (Tucson, Ariz.
Hector Bruno (Chicago, Ill.)
Larry Coutermarsh (North Pole, Alaska)
Sam Ronnegard (Cordova, Alaska)

HCC2

“Oz” Sanchez (San Diego, Calif.)  
Mike Sprouse (Rome, Ga.)
Alejandro Albor (Elk Grove, Calif.)

Wheelchair

Edwin Figueroa (Commerce, Calif.)
Geoffrey Erickson (Wilmington, Calif.)
Chris Kohler (Palm Springs, Calif.)
Paul Nunnari (Narellan NSW AST)
Yevgeniy Tetyukhin (Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan)
James Lilly (Brookfield, Ill.)

Women's Handcycle

Maria L. M. Avila (San Bartolo Ameyalco CP, Mexico) 
Sherry Ramsey (Littleton, Colo.)
Katja Lueke (Kassel, Germany)