The Yukon Quest’s Rookie of the Year has revealed his delight at finally finishing the race.

Josh Cadzow said he was speechless after he crossed the finishing line at the event yesterday (February 16th 2010) in seventh place.

He was full of praise for his sled dogs, stating that things "started coming together" as the race progressed.

Although the canines battled milder temperatures than in 2009, when Cadzow scratched at Dawson City, they still pulled through to record the success.

He remarked: "It feels great. I worked all year for this."

At the opposite end of the experience spectrum, veteran Hans Gatt won the race in record time earlier this week, smashing the previous finishing time by 23 hours.

Lance Mackey finished in second, while Hugh Neff was in the bronze medal position.

The race takes place over 1,000 miles of snowy wasteland across Alaska and is one of the biggest events on the global mushing calendar.