Lesser, Soukalova win mass-start biathlon World Cup events
RUHPOLDING, Germany (AP) Erik Lesser of Germany and Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic stayed perfect on the shooting range in driving snowfall to win mass-start biathlon World Cup events on Saturday.
Lesser clinched his second career win by beating overall World Cup leader Martin Fourcade of France by 9.8 seconds. Fourcade had to do one penalty loop after missing one target in the last of four shootings. Lesser covered the 15 kilometers in 40 minutes, 29.3 seconds. Evgeniy Garanichev of Russia was third, 13.1 seconds behind after one extra loop.
Overall World Cup leader Soukalova picked up her 10th career win by covering the 12.5-kilometer women's distance in 41:13.2 seconds to leave two Germans behind.
Franziska Hildebrand was second, 13.9 seconds behind, after one penalty lap. Laura Dahlmeier had two penalty loops for two missed targets and finished 24.4 seconds behind in third.
Fourcade is seeking a record fifth straight overall title and has a comfortable lead with 655 points. Tarjei Boe of Norway is second at 468 after finishing only 11th in the race.
Halfway into the 26-event season, Soukalova has 611 points, while Marie Dorin Habert of France is second at 538. She was ninth in Saturday's race. Hildebrand is third overall at 520 points.
