After the Norwegian double yesterday, it was Finland’s day in the World Cup today, with Tero Fohr and Minna Kauppi both coming through the field to win in the chasing start. Kauppi started in ninth and Fohr in seventh, but both worked their way to the front and prevailed in sprint finishes against Ann Margrethe Hausken (Norway) and Emil Wingstedt (Sweden) respectively. There was a shock in the men’s race when Thierry Gueorgiou, who came in four minutes clear of the field, was disqualified for missing a small butterfly loop on the course.

Dave Shepherd made a surge through the field early on; starting in 45th, he climbed as high as 22nd at one stage before hitting the wall in the closing stages and slipping back to 33rd, one place behind Julian Dent who was 32nd. Simon Uppill was 41st, whilst Blair Trewin withdrew with a hamstring strain early in the race. Grace Elson and Jo Allison both lost ground after their good races yesterday, and finished 34th and 35th respectively.

The next set of World Cup points will be awarded for the World Championships in the Czech Republic, to be followed by O-ringen in Sweden.