The third and fourth legs in the IBU World Cup men's relay on Saturday, the Bø brothers led Norway to a 30-second win over France, while Germany picked off three places on the last leg to notch third. The U.S. came close to an unprecedented fourth, finishing fifth behind Russia in a photo finish.
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.
Andy Newell got the U.S. men's relay off to a strong start Sunday, tagging off to Noah Hoffman in fourth. Hoffman rose to second, but two crashes on his last lap proved too much to overcome and the Americans finished 10th, a season best that left the team wanting more.