Mired in 16th after the first leg of this afternoon’s Ruhpolding Men’s 4 X 7.5 Km relay, France gradually worked their way back to near the front of the field. A strong third leg by Quentin Fillon Maillet put them in striking range and a brilliant clean-shooting anchor leg by Eric Perrot secured a 1:08:58.1victory. Perrot, Fillon Maillet, Oscar Lombardot and Fabien Claude had a single penalty and four spares in their first relay win of the season.

Norway, with seven spares finished second after battling third place Germany in the last loop. The Norwegians with seven spares finished 6.2 seconds back while Germany with five spares finished 7.9 seconds back.

Sweden, with seven spares finished fourth, 24 seconds back. Estonia fifth with four spares recorded their best relay result in 23 years, dating back to Oberhof in 2003. Czechia, with twelve spare rounds finished sixth, 1:02.9 back.

Photos: IBU/ Harald Deubert, Yevenko, Nordic Focus