Lamov, who triumphed in the men's sprint event yesterday, continued his strong start to the season as he topped the podium with a time of 42min 56sec.

He finished 25 seconds in front of silver medallist Lars Moholdt of Norway, while Lamov's compatriot Sergey Gorlanov took the bronze in a race held over 11.8 kilometres.

"There was a lot of fast downhill skiing early on," Lamov said. 

"There were hard and soft places and in parts it was tricky.

"But I eventually got into a good flow and felt confident. 

"I am in good shape right now."

Tove Alexandersson of Sweden claimed the women's middle distance honours as she completed the 10km course in 39:35.

Alexandersson finished the course in front of Russian duo Mariya Kechkina and Anastasia Kravchenko.

Kechina earned the silver medal, 34 seconds adrift of the victorious Swede, while Kravchenko did enough for bronze.

Kravchenko was over two minutes slower than Alexandersson, whose triumph proved to be a comfortable one.

"I am very happy with this race," Alexandersson said.

The season-opening World Cup in the Finnish resort is due to conclude on Thursday (November 30) with the men's and women's long distance races.

It follows a rest day tomorrow.