On Sjusjøen's unique 40-point shooting range, competition heated up as some of the world's best biathletes went head to head in mass start racing on Sunday. France's Simon Fourcade matched his brother Martin's win from the previous day, while Ukraine's Yuliya Dzhima took the women's title.
France's Martin Fourcade and Justine Braisaz stole the show in Sjusjøen, locking the Norwegians out of victories on home turf in biathlon's season-opening sprints.
A day after besting Germany's Simon Schempp on the last loop, Anton Shipulin of Russia did so again -- this time beating the German by a second for the men's relay victory. Schempp partially blamed a lapped skier. The U.S. men ended up sixth, tying their season best from a week earlier, while Canada placed 11th with strong shooting.
On Sunday, French biathlete Jean-Guillaume Béatrix knew he was the luckiest man in Pokljuka, achieving the first World Cup victory of his career in a men’s 15-kilometer mass start he hadn’t planned on racing.
The Canadian men posted their second-best result in a World Cup relay in sixth on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. They did so thanks to near-perfect shooting from the Gow brothers and fast ski times from all four team members.
The French biathlon team seemed to have mastered the blustery conditions in Ostersund - that is, until four-time World Champion Martin Fourcade took over. Instead, it was the Czech Republic who had the most to celebrate as they took the win, their first in the history of the discipline.
Sjusjøen, Norway, is hosting "Sesongstartskiskyting": opening races for the international biathlon season. Most European national teams were in attendance, and Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen and Germany's Andrea Henkel took home the wins in Saturday's sprints.