Magdalena Neuner took control of the race to win the women's biathlon World Cup despite only finishing seventh in the Holmenkollen sprint.

When scratched results are taken into account, the young German will be 25 points clear of countrywoman Andrea Henkel (who finished fifth) with just two more races left this weekend.

France's Sandrine Bailly was the big loser on the day as she dropped from first to third in the overall standings (27 points off Neuner), as she finished a disappointing 18th despite missing only two shots - the same amount as Henkel and Neurer.

The race was won by Russia's Svetlana Sleptsova (1 miss), who picked up her second sprint success of the season by 7.4 seconds ahead of Tora Berger.

Kati Wilhelm, who along with Berger was perfect with the rifle, completed the podium.

The overall title will now come down to the pursuit and mass start races this weekend.

In the men's race, young Norwegian double world champion Emil Hegle Svendsen picked up another victory as he was perfect with the rifle on his way to a 24.5 second victory over Michael Roesch.

Friedrich Pinter of Austria completed the podium with a third place finish.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen who had already wrapped up the overall and pursuit World Cup title could only finish 14th.

Seán Fay / Eurosport