Biathlon Yukon held their second Grey Mountain Cup on Sunday at their course off Grey Mountain Road.

The event featured a Pursuit race in which 28 athletes participated. The categories ranged from 2.4 km Pursuit to Masters 7.5 km Pursuit.

Race organizer Sophia Marnik said they have added to the shooting range.

"Our biathlon range – we just expanded by six lanes, official lanes. So we went from 24 lanes to 30 official lanes. We also have two lanes on the outside. We're calling it Lane 0 and Lane 31. So we actually have one of the largest ranges in Canada now."

Marnik said the action, from the start, was "fast and furious, and busy in the range."

Rankings were based on the previous qualifying event on Jan. 23.

It was a great day for biathlon, with the temperature above -10 C.

Mike Fancie competed in the Master 7.5 km category.

"I couldn't ask for a better day to ski. You can see just how fast people are cruising; there's no wind on the range. After the cold weather we had over the holidays, this is exactly what we need to think about while we have a beautiful day for biathlon."

This was Fancie's first time out this year.

How does that feel?

"It's gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous! At the end of the day, I think, you do your best, and knowing that your best is what you've given, being able to lie down afterwards in the sunshine, have a snack, hang out with people you care about – I don't know what else you could ask for."

As for how he was feeling physically, "I'm exhausted. But I'm grinning from ear-to-ear. Wooh," he exclaimed.

Fancie finished second in the Masters category in a time of 44:40.2.

Isla Hupé had a challenging race in the Youth Women 7.5 km Pursuit.

"Yeah. I wouldn't say it was my best, but – it was difficult, yeah."

How are you feeling now?

"Tired. Glad I'm done."

Hupé had to pause to breathe on the shooting range.

"Yeah, it's been a pretty intense two weeks because I've raced every weekend so far, but this race is the first one that I've had to stop on the mat before shooting, and just take really deep breaths. But, yeah, it was an interesting shooting."

Overall, Hupé said, "I felt really tired. Slow. But I'm really happy I participated and did it and finished."

Hupé also commented on the great conditions.

"Beautiful! Sun is shining. Blue skies. It was really nice."

Hupé finished second with a time of 43:52.6.

Isadore Champagne competed in the Youth Men 10 km Pursuit.

"It was great. It was beautiful sunshine, great weather. So that probably helps a little bit.

"I was very happy with my shooting. I shot really good and I was very happy about that."

Champagne was still recovering from a race held Saturday at Mount McIntyre.

"My skiing felt a little bit sluggish. But I had a race yesterday which, obviously, I'm still tired from, so that was a factor."

However, he was pleased with his overall race.

"This was one of my best races of the season, for sure."

Champagne finished third in the category with a time of 39:10.8.

Keelan Robins competed in the Senior Boys 7.5 km Pursuit.

"I feel like I did pretty good. My last bit of shooting wasn't so good, but everything else was good. Skiing was good."

Robins was also impressed with the conditions of the course.

"It's awesome. It's super-fast. Not as icy as I thought it was going to be."

He finished with a fourth-fastest time of 37:21.9.

Marnik seemed pleased with the way the race ran.

"As far as I know, it went smoothly. This is a different way of starting ... it can be very intense and sometimes kids haven't done that before and so, it's also a learning curve, which is kind of awesome, but it seemed to have gone off without mostly a hitch. I think we had one athlete who fell on course, but I don't know what the status of that athlete is," she related.

The athlete didn't finish the competition.

"Most likely it's an injury and they just don't continue."

Athletes, of course, are allowed to continue if they fall down.

"Normally, you can get up, but if you do hurt yourself bad enough, you don't get up. Or if you break your gun, or you break a ski – sometimes people don't finish a race for different reasons."

According to Marnik, 32 athletes were registered for the event. Twenty-eight started and 27 finished the race.

Marnik also gave a thumbs-up to the conditions.

"It's a beautiful day; it's sunny, perfect conditions."

Biathlon Yukon has another big event coming up.

"Next weekend's our Yukon Champs (Championships) and we will have races both days," said Marnik.

The older athletes start at noon, and the Biathlon Bears' athletes start at 1:30.

Saturday will feature a mass start, while a sprint will go on Sunday.