Iditarod officials are predicting this year’s sled dog race will be one of the tightest in years.

Writing on the event’s official Eye on the Trail blog, Bruce Lee predicted that any one of ten teams could lift the title this year.

Hans Gatt is likely to be in contention after proving his credentials by winning the Yukon Quest last week, where he broke the course record by 23 hours.

However, his main rivals at the event Lance Mackey and Hugh Neff will also be hungry for revenge, with Mackey especially keen to add to his previous three Last Great Race titles.

Mr Lee said mushers will be selecting their final teams for the event at the moment before setting off for Alaska in a week’s time.

"What we know is there is one heck of a strong competitive field and that the poetic dance of mushers, sled dogs, weather and Alaska are about to come together in the Iditarod," he stated.

Kicking off on March 6th 2010 in Anchorage, the race covers 1,000 miles of frozen wastes before culminating in Nome around ten days later.

Some 71 mushers have signed up for the race, ranging from veterans such as Trent Herbst to rookies such as Jamaican Newton Marshall.