March 03, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – The USA’s Tim Burke led the North Americans today with a 10th-place finish in the men’s 10km Sprint competition at the IBU World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. With only one shooting penalty, the American finished less than 1 minute behind gold medalist Martin Fourcade of France. Canada’s Jean Philippe Le Guellec had a solid day in 14th also with one penalty.

“I am happy with the result today but I am hoping to feel a little better on the skis for the next races,” Burke told SkiTrax.

When asked how the break in racing since the last World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, affected the race today, Burke commented “I did not feel rusty today because I raced in the mixed relay two days ago, which was the perfect warm up for the sprint.”

The 26-year-old Le Guellec, with a handful of top-15 finishes throughout his World Cup career, also suffered one penalty finishing 1:10 behind Fourcade.

“The skis were fast today, which was great and kept me alive,” said the two-time Olympian in a team release. “My ski shape was a bit lethargic. I definitely got worked by the course, but my ski time isn’t as dramatic as it felt.

Skiing conditions were very tricky.  “The conditions were very challenging with some places getting very deep and wet while others remained icy. The downhills here are especially tricky,” added Burke.  “I think they would be better suited for alpine skiing.  I actually took a huge fall warming up and came up with a bloody face but was happy to make it through the actual race on my feet.”

The best part of the day for Burke was racing in front of the 30,000 enthusiastic German fans.  “It was so loud in some places on the track that it was impossible to hear the coaches!”

Conditions didn’t seem to affect Frenchman Fourcade’s performance, as he took the win over silver medalist Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway and Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman who shot clean to claim bronze.  Despite two shooting penalties, Fourcade skied remarkably fast to claim the 15-second victory over Svendsen.

“I am really happy with my race today. My shooting was not as good as I expected, but I am very happy to catch the victory,” said Fourcade in a biathlonworld.com interview.  “I am very proud of my team today; they made perfect skis for me.”

Bronze medalist Bergman lead the race as he left the final shooting stage, but he didn’t have enough gas in the tank to hold on for the win. “I was tired on the final loop. I was trying to focus on my strength, but I did not ski as fast as in the first two loops,” Bergman told biathlonworld.com.  “I thought I did a good job of saving my energy and had the power to push but not as good as the other guys.”

Burke’s teammate Lowell Bailey had a solid result shooting clean to place 20th followed by  Canadians Nathan Smith, Scott Perras, and Marc-Andre Bedard in 45th, 50th, and 55th position while American’s Russell Currier and Jay Hakkinen placed 63rd and 91st respectively.

Up next from Ruhpolding on Sunday are the Men’s 12.5km and the Women’s 10km Pursuit races.

Full results HERE.