By the time the men started, the sky was clearer but the snow returned periodically.
Fak in the Lead
The top 12 men all shot clean in the first prone with Fak holding a 15 second lead over Fourcade and Schempp. Under a bright sky with light winds, he came to the second prone all alone. He cleaned as did Fourcade but Schempp had a penalty, which opened the door for Slesingr who left just 6.6 seconds behind the German. Now there were 10 men all within 46 seconds as they headed towards the standing stages.
Fak and Fourcade stayed about 5 seconds apart over the next loop. They shot side-by-side; both cleaned and went out with the same gap. Schempp cleaned as did Lesser but they remained 36 and 49 seconds back. Fourth to eighth positions were all just 9 seconds apart and all were clean through three stages. The final standing stage and the last 2.5K would decide the final podium spots.
One Shot
Fak hit 19 shots before missing and went to the penalty loop. Meanwhile, Fourcade and Schempp cleaned; they left the stadium within meters of each other with Fak in the lead.
The three battled over the final loop with Fak in the lead all of the way. Just before 12K, Fourcade moved ahead of Schempp and the German stepped on his ski which caused the Yellow Bib to lose his momentum and fall out of the fight. Fak won easily.
Pursuit Men (12,5 km):
Official results
Race analysis
World Cup Discipline
World Cup Total Score
biathlonworld.com
