A Yukon Quest musher has revealed the only way to reach the pinnacle of sled dog racing is to beat Lance Mackey.

Brent Sass issued the battle cry ahead of the start of the event tomorrow (February 6th 2010), according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Mackey, who took a year off in 2009, has already won the event three times and is gunning for further success over the next ten to 14 days.

Sass remarked: "I’m happy Lance is out there. The only way to get better is by beating the best."

Fairbanks veteran Mackey, meanwhile, is at a loss to explain why many consider him the best in the business when it comes to sled dog racing.

"People ask me how or why or what I do different – [and] I don’t know," he told the news provider.

The race is held on a 1,000-mile course across Alaska and loosely traces the route used by teams of mushers delivering medical supplies across the country in the early 20th century.