January 11, 2015 (Oberhof, GER) – Martin Fourcade (France) was untouchable today shooting clean in the men’s 15km Mass Start race in Oberhof while Russia’s Anton Shipulin was second with four misses at 13.1s behind and his teammate Dmitry Malyshko suffered three penalties finishing 30.7 seconds back.

Final podium © Nordic Focus

Cold windy conditions saw noone with less than three penalties except Fourcade as Canada’s Nathan Smith suffered six penalties with three on the final standing session that pushed him into a tie for 20th spot. American Lowell Bailey had a tough day as well with 10 penalties placing 29th.

Nathan Smith (CAN) © Nordic Focus

“Just getting into the mass start today wasn’t a given,” said Chris Lindsay, high-performance director, Biathlon Canada, who added Smith was on the reserve list but got in after another competitor withdrew. “This was an important race to continue pushing him into the top-25 in the world. Nathan’s ski speed remains strong, and we are confident he will have more top-eight results as we shift our focus towards the World Championships in March.”

Full results here.