March 02, 2013 (Oslo, Norway) – Strong gusts of wind plagued the shooting in the Men’s 12.5 km Pursuit at the famed Holmenkollen on Saturday as France’s Martin Fourcade claimed his third victory this season. After finishing in second in the Sprint, Fourcade was able to cope with the wind gusts and missed only two shots in the difficult conditions to finish with a time of 33:48.2.

Norway’s Tarjei Boe at 27.7 seconds behind Fourcade was second with 3 misses and a time of 34:15.9 while 21-year-old Alexandr Loginov of Russia claimed the first World Cup podium finish of his career finishing 3rd at 35.5s back suffering three penalties.

“It was not relaxing, but it was good. I think you needed some luck to win. I shot better in the hard wind conditions; that was the key to success,” Fourcade told biathlondworld.com.  “I knew I could miss two shots and still win before the last standing…It was good for me today.”

American Tim Burke had the top North American result finishing 15th up from a starting position of 32nd. Burke posted a time of 35:54.9 with three penalties. “I was very happy to move up so much in today’s pursuit,” said Burke in a team release. “I was definitely disappointed with my shooting in the sprint, so it felt great to go out there today and have solid shooting in some very tricky conditions. I have felt good here all week on the skis, so I am looking forward to what I can do in tomorrow’s Mass Start!”

Teammate Lowell Bailey finished 34th, while the lone Canadian in the field, Scott Perras, finished in 42nd place.  Americans Russell Currier and Leif Nordgren rounded out the North American results finishing in 47th and 48th place respectively. Racing concludes at Oslo’s Holmenkollen on Sunday with the men’s and women’s Mass Start events.

Full results here.