Bjoerndalen claims double

After dropping off the pace on the second lap - missing one target - the Norwegian came back with a perfect five out of five on the penultimate lap giving himself a large advance over the rest of the group.

By the time Bjoerndalen had missed one target on the last standing shoot and was making his way around the penalty loop Sergei Rozhkov was entering the stadium for his last shoot.

The Russian cleared all five and reduced the gap to 17 seconds on Bjoerndalen for the last lap but the Norwegian was home and dry with a solid performance of skiing.

The triple World Cup Champion cruised down the final straight with a Norwegian flag in hand to claim the win and the title in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

The battle for second and third continued behind with Czech Republic's Roman Dostal and Rozhkov neck and neck all the way to the final 100 metres.

But the Czech had more in reserve and powered home to claim second spot ahead of the Russian, 12.1 and 14.1 seconds off the pace respectively.

The misery continued for Frenchman Raphael Poiree - who opted out of Saturday's race esteeming the time difference for the pursuit between him and his closest rival Bjoerndalen too much - as he had trouble on every visit to the shooting range missing 6 shots in total and crossed the line down in 21st position.

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