Fourcade crossed the line 40.3 seconds behind eventual winner Nathan Smith of Canada, who also made history by claiming his maiden career World Cup victory with a time of 32min 04.9secs.

Germany's Benedikt Doll continued his excellent recent run of form as he came second, 24 seconds adrift of Smith, who won silver at the recent World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, while Russian Anton Shipulin was third.

The result gave Fourcade an insurmountable lead at the top of the standings ahead of Shipulin and with it a place in the biathlon history books.

"Winning the crystal globe was my main aim this season," the 26-year-old said.

"I am really satisfied and full of happiness.

"I was disappointed with fourth place but I will have another chance tomorrow to celebrate my season."

In the women's 10km race, Sochi 2014 triple Olympic champion Darya Domracheva moved a step closer to winning the overall crown by clinching a relatively comfortable win, finishing in a time of 28:14.4 with one penalty.

Triple 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic champion Darya Domracheva moved a step closer to the women's overall title with a dominant pursuit win in Russia ©Getty Images



It proved to be another day of near misses for Germany as Laura Dahlmeier earned a second consecutive runner-up berth, shooting clean on her way to crossing the line 15.7 seconds shy of Domracheva, while compatriot Franziska Preuss was third.

Domracheva's victory ensures she will go into the final event of the season, tomorrow's mass start race, with a healthy 32-point advantage over nearest challenger Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland, who kept her own chances of snatching the overall title alive by reigning supreme in the sprint yesterday.

"After a hard World Championships, I am very happy to win today," the 28-year-old Belarusian said.

"My strategy from the start was to focus on my own race."

The IBU World Cup campaign concludes tomorrow with the men's 15km mass start, while the women will race over 12.5km.

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