There will be no time to rest for Yukon cross country skiers Derek Deuling and Sasha Masson. The duo was recently in Lausanne, Switzerland competing in the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games.

When they hopped on the plane back to Canada, they didn’t head back to the territory, instead, they flew to Quebec to prepare for the Haywood NorAm World Junior Under 23 Trials in Mont Saint-Anne.

Those races will begin Jan. 30 and they will be joined by other members of the Yukon cross country ski team.

Before competitions in Quebec begin, the Star caught up with Masson and Deuling to talk about their experiences in Switzerland.

“Man, the Games experience was amazing,” said Masson. “It was so fun to be involved. You travel with different countries and you get a different perspective on skiing and life.”

According to the Youth Olympics Games website, it is the second-largest multipart event after the Winter Olympic Games. The games featured eight sports, 16 disciplines and 81 medals, and lots of fans - including a Swiss/Yukoner.

“On our first day of races, we saw a Yukon flag and a heard someone cheering our names,” said Masson. “Derek and I decided after the race we needed to find them. It turns out he was a Swiss/Yukoner who lives in Dawson in the summer.

“He read about it in the newspaper and decided to come cheer us on.”

Their competition began with a cross-country cross free event. This discipline of the sport features several technical aspects such as jumps, slalom gates and turns to increase difficulty.

Before leaving for Switzerland, both Masson and Deuling said it wasn’t something they had trained much of, but were looking forward to giving it a go.

Masson finished 38th overall and Deuling followed shortly after in 44th. Masson said it was a good way to start as it helped get the nerves out of the way.

Their next day of competition was a sprint, where Deuling cracked the top 20 coming in 19th and Masson came in 38th.

Last was the 10-kilometre classic, Deuling placed 18th and Masson 47th.

Masson said he took the Games as an opportunity to grow as a skier.

“It was definitely more of a learning experience,” said Masson. “I got my head around competing with the high-level countries.”

Dueling said he was happy with his results.

“I was really pleased with how I raced,” said Deuling. “I didn’t know what to expect. I took key elements on the first day and on the second day I gave it all I got and qualified for the sprint final.

“On the last day I felt a little bit off, but I reminded myself where I was and got into the top 20.”

As one could imagine, donning the Canada uniform brings a certain level of nerves.

“There is more pressure representing Canada than just your club,” said Masson. “You know Canada has your back. It fuels performance representing Canada, it gives you that extra drive and power.”

The coaching responsibilities for the Canadian team were shared by Matt Smider and Katie McMahon. Masson said they enjoyed working with them.

“The coaches were awesome,” said Masson. “It was cool to experience a different level of coaching. They were definitely there to support us. After every race, we would have a team meeting and reflect on what we learned and what we wanted to improve upon.”

The two Yukoners stayed in the village with all the athletes from different sports. Masson said it was great being around other athletes at the top of their craft.

“You see every sport because you are staying in the same building,” said Masson. “You’re surrounded by high-level athletes, it’s pretty fun.

“We were definitely recognized as Canadians. They would ask where we are from and we’d have to say up near Alaska. They were amazed there were two skiers from the Yukon.”

Masson said he and Deuling also had a good time chatting with the other cross country skiers from different countries and were amazed by some of the countries competing.

“Brazil, Greece and Thailand were probably the most exotic,” said Masson. “The Norwegians, their life revolves around skiing. It was cool to meet guys who we might possibly see in a few years at world cups.

“It’s pretty fun to know we all come from different cultures but we all have cross country skiing in common.”

Masson and Deuling missed the opening ceremonies but were there for the closing and while they weren’t skiing Masson said they tried to embrace the Games as best they could.

“We went to the big air competition,” said Masson. “That was really cool and so beautiful being in the Alps.

“We just tried to register it all.”

In all, Masson said the experience will only help them become better skiers.

“We left as better skiers and humans,” said Masson. “We got a different view on the level we need to achieve to get to an Olympics or world cups.

“We’ve got more motivation and more expertise.”

Now in Quebec, fresh off an international competition where they represented the country, they are back on the national circuit. Both Masson and Deuling said there won’t be any added pressure.

“It will be a bit of a change going back to a national competition,” said Masson. “It will still be an enriched skiing experience.”

Deuling was succinct in his answer when asked if there will be more pressure riding on him in Quebec.

“Bring it on,” he said.