Johannes Thingnes Boe makes it a hat-trick of wins in Hochfilzen, finishing 43 seconds ahead of Emilien Jacquelin

Johannes Thingnes Boe continued his impressive start to the biathlon World Cup campaign with a third successive victory in the sprint in Hochfilzen.

Boe took sprint and pursuit wins in Kontiolahti in the opening rounds of the season and he carried that form to Austria with a dominant performance.

The three-time overall World Cup champion shot clear over the 10km course to take the win by 43 seconds from France’s Emilien Jacquelin, who missed once.

Boe’s compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid completed the podium, 3.9 seconds further back, with Filip Fjeld Andersen making it three Norwegians in the top four after shooting clear.

Defending overall champion Quentin Fillon Maillet showed some signs of a return to form in seventh spot, with one miss, but Boe remains the unquestioned man to beat in the early season.

He will look to make it four in a row in Sunday’s pursuit where he will set off with a mammoth lead over Jacquelin and Laegreid, the latter his closest rival in the World Cup standings at this early stage.