After the women, the men's sprint race was also on the schedule on the first competition day in Hochfilzen. Over the 10 km, the Norwegian team once again proved to be in a class of its own. Johannes Thingnes Boe, despite a shooting mistake, triumphed over his flawless compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid with a lead of 4.2 seconds. Frenchman Fabien Claude completed the podium in third place (+6.8 sec./flawless).

Austria's best finisher was veteran Simon Eder, who placed 35th. The Salzburg native made one shooting error and crossed the finish line with a deficit of 1:36.1 minutes. Felix Leitner, with a shooting error and a time deficit of 1:52.8 minutes, finished 42nd and also qualified for the pursuit. David Komatz (66th), Fredrik Mühlbacher (85th), and Fabian Müllauer (100th) finished in the chasing field.

Simon Eder: "It’s just tough on the skis at the moment. I gave everything in the first lap, had a strong group to ski with, and maybe it was even a little too fast. But for a good result, I really need a clean shoot, and the error was probably close to the edge, which is disappointing because I actually felt quite good. In the pursuit, it’s all about working my way forward, ideally shooting clean four times, and then there’s definitely still a lot of potential."

Alle Fotos: ÖSV/GEPA