Maiden World Cup win for Laukkanen as Koukalova takes sprint crown

Every member of Friday's podium shot clean but it was Laukkanen who had the edge on the skis, finishing in 20:33.5 minutes, ahead of France duo Justine Braisaz, who was 7.5 seconds back, and Anais Bescond, 23.1 seconds back.

In windy conditions, both Laukkanen and Braisaz started in the first group but the former was faster on the tracks.

Bescond, meanwhile, started in the second group with her clean shooting and solid performance enough to grab the last podium spot.

Laukkanen commented saying: "I feel great today, it feels so good to shoot 0-0; I should do it more often. It was not an easy day, I was a little bit lucky on the standing. I'm so happy that it was enough to win today."

There was also success for Gabriela Koukalova as her fourth-place finish was enough for her to take the sprint Crystal Globe on 377 points after Germany's Laura Dahlmeier's 31st-place finish – her worst result of the season – left her on 373 points.