Resurgent France take biathlon relay honours

Taking the lead at the second exchange, the French team of Jean-Guillaume Beatrix, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Simon Desthieux and Martin Fourcade hardly looked back, crossing the line in 1:11:56 – requiring just two spares with the gun.

That was despite a blistering start for Russia and Maxim Tsvetkov, leading the charge for his side in an impressive opening in Slovenia, eventually finishing second in the race.

It was a lack of consistency that cost the Russians, with Anton Babikov and Matvey Eliseev only able to stop the clock fifth and ninth in their crucial, middle legs as France extended their advantage.

But Anton Shipulin's anchor leg brought his country to the fore, with Germany fighting back from ninth to round off the podium.

But the season's first race belonged to France, pulling away from the field to go as many as 26 seconds clear heading into the final leg, eventually winning by 15 seconds.

They take 60 World Cup points from the contest, as well as 420 to go towards their Nations Cup success.

"When we started the relay, we thought that winning was possible," said lead Beatrix. "At the same time, the competition was very tough. There were many strong teams."