January 13, 2013 (Ruhpolding, GER) – France’s Martin Fourcade claimed his second victory of the weekend on Sunday in the men’s 15km Mass Start race by shooting clean to finish with a time of 36:27.7. Russia’s Dmitry Malyshko missed just one shot at his first time on the range to finish 2nd with a time of 36:28.2, while Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen grabbed 3rd with a time of 36:38.3 suffering two penalties (0+1+1+0).

Fourcade wins...

On the final leg Fourcade and Malyshko were alone out front with no threat from behind as the Russian tried in vain to dispense of his French rival. But Fourcade was clearly the stronger and as the finish line approached he accelerated by Malyshko for the victory. Behind Svendsen’s skiing prowess propelled him to the final podium spot.

The USA’s Tim Burke was back in action after being sidelined with sickness to place 19th on Sunday with a time of 37:46.6 and two penalties. His best mass start result was a stellar 3rd earlier this season in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

Tim Burke © US Biathlon/Nordic Focus

Canada’s Scott Perras finished 26th at his first-ever World Cup mass start competition which showcases the top-30 athletes in the world.  “The result doesn’t sound great, but I can’t forget these are the 30 best athletes,” Perras said in a team release, who earned his spot on the start line Sunday with a career-best 10th-place result in the Sprint competition one day earlier. “It was fun. I thought it would be different but in the middle I said it is just like any other race. You ski and shoot.”

Canada's Perras... © Manzoni/NordicFocus

“The mass start is a tactical race, and if you are one of the best you can dictate the tactics. My job was to respond and take opportunities as I saw them,” added Perras, who has still been battling jet lag. “I played things right today. This was a great experience that I think will set me up for something better in the future.”

Round 6 of the E.ON IBU World Cup gets underway next week from Antholz-Anterselva, Italy on January 16th.

Full results here.