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(L-R) France's second place team, Italy's winner team and Czech Republic's third placed team celebrate on the podium after the mixed 4x6 km relay of the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave. Svoboda Jaroslav/CTK/dpa
World Cup leader Tommaso Giacomel made the difference as Italy claimed a biathlon mixed relay statement victory on Saturday in the Czech Republic, 15 days before the Olympic race on home snow.
Giacomel turned a deficit of 14.8 seconds on France at the final exchange in Nove Mesto into a victory by 24.7 seconds together with team-mates Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi and Lukas Hofer.
Michal Krcmar delighted the fans by leading the Czech team to third place ahead of the United States.
Superpower Norway had to settle for sixth with two penalty laps, but like some other teams did not have all top stars present in Nove Mesto which is the last World Cup stop before the Milan/Cortina Winter Olympics.
The Games open on February 6 and the mixed relay is the first biathlon medal event on February 8 in Anterselva.
Earlier on Saturday, Suvi Minkkinen and Tero Seppälä were named winners of the single mixed relay, which is not part of the Olympic programme, after original first place finishers Germany were disqualified.
Marlene Fichtner and Leonhard Pfund had won the race 6.5 seconds ahead of the Finnish duo.
But after half an hour they were stripped of first place for a rule violation. Fichtner had not properly strapped her rifle onto her back after one shooting portion. The rifle must be attached over both shoulders for safety reasons in the sport before skiers leave the mat. Fichtner did not have her left arm through the strap.
In the revised results, Minkkinnen and Seppälä won 11.3 seconds ahead of the French duo of Jeanne Richard and Emilien Claude. Norway's Juni Arnekleiv and Martin Nevland moved onto the podium from an original fourth place despite one penalty lap, 16.7 seconds behind the winners.
It was heartbreak for the two 22-year-old Germans who had initially celebrated their team's first success of the season, which Pfund appeared to have clinched in only his second career World Cup start when he passed Seppälä in the final stages.
"It was a rollercoaster. The finish was great. It was great moments together. Then the news came. It hurts. I hope we can both shake it off quickly," Pfund told German broadcaster ARD.
German federation sporting director Felix Bitterling said: "It is brutally bitter because it affects two young athletes."
The Nove Mesto races conclude on Sunday with mass starts for men and women.
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(L-R) Czech Republic third-placed Michal Krcmar, Vitezslav Hornig, Tereza Vobornikova, and Jessica Jislova celbrate after the mixed 4x6 km relay of the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave. Svoboda Jaroslav/CTK/dpa
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