Norway beats France to win men's relay at biathlon World Cup
RUHPOLDING, Germany (AP) Johannes Thingnes Boe sealed Norway's win ahead of France in the men's 4x7.5-kilometer relay at a biathlon World Cup on Friday.
Boe overtook Antonin Guigonnat of France and Anton Shipulin of Russia and carved out a big lead after shooting cleanly in prone. He needed two spares in standing shooting before sealing the win, 24.9 seconds ahead of France.
The Norwegian team of Lars Helge Birkeland, Boe's older brother Tarjei, Emil Hegle Svendsen, and the younger Boe completed the course in over an hour with seven spares.
It was the Norwegians' eighth win in 11 relay races in Ruhpolding.
Overall World Cup leader Martin Fourcade shot cleanly to drag France back into contention with the fastest round of the day, going third after Simon Desthieux and Quentin Fillon Maillet. But Guigonnat was unable to hold onto their lead. France finished with six spares altogether.
Russia finished third, 53.4 seconds behind Norway with four spares, followed by Germany and Austria.
The women's relay was scheduled for Saturday.
