His compatriot and World Cup leader Martin Fourcade had been expected to mount a strong challenge at the Slovenian venue, but the two-time Olympic champion picked up two penalties in the first prone shooting stage and dropped out of contention.

With several of the favourites surprisingly struggling despite the near perfect conditions for shooting, due to a lack of wind, Beatrix was able to escape in a four-man leading group as the field approached the concluding stages of the race.

He was joined by yesterday's 12.5km winner Simon Schempp of Germany and the Norwegian duo of Emil Hegle Svendsen and Ole Einar Bjørndalen, but it became a two-way fight for gold as the Frenchman and Svendsen moved clear.

Having shot clean throughout the duration of the event, Beatrix finished in style by out-sprinting his Norwegian opponent to cross the line in a winning time of 35min 33.70sec.

"I didn't think I could win as Emil was strong, he looked a little tired on the last downhill though, thanks to good skis I managed to make a nice finish,” Beatrix said.

"The beginning of the season was not good for me, I always finished in 15th place and I knew I could do better.

“I was looking forward to the competition, this is my first clean shot in my career, I am happy about it."

Bjørndalen was able to join his team-mate Svendsen on the podium, securing third place in a photo finish after he crossed the line with Schempp in 35:36.20, with both men having picked up two penalties during the event.

In the women's race, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen earned her second World Cup victory of the season, moving clear of the field to finish comfortably ahead of her rivals.

The 32-year-old recovered from picking up a penalty on the first prone stage of the race to shoot clear on the remaining three rounds and eventually completed the 12.5km distance in 34:40.20.

Gabriela Soukaolva was able to produce a faultless shooting performance so the Czech Republic athlete avoided picking up any penalties en-route to finishing second, 11.80sec behind the winner in the mass start contest.

Russia’s Olga Podchufarova completed the podium positions, finishing in 35:07.90 having also shot clear.