Russia's men controlled the action in the men's sprint, with the freestyle event being held in Otepää, Estonia for the first time, as Alexei Petukhov set up his team mate Sergey Ustiugov for the final lap with the two proving to be fastest in a time of 19min 39.10sec.

The pair finished ahead of the Norwegian duo Anders Gløersen and Finn Haagen Krogh, who were just 0.4sec behind the winners, meaning Norway still have not won a men's team sprint freestyle event since December 2010.

Krogh admitted afterwards that today "it was a very difficult final".

"I tried to follow Sergey but he was very strong today," he added.

His view was echoed by Ustiugov's team mate Petukhov, claiming that the two of them "were a great team".

"It feels amazing to win in Otepää," he said.

"We like it here very much.

"The atmosphere was great both in the stadium and in the track."

Sweden's Sochi 2014 bronze medallists Stina Nilsson and Ida Ingemarsdotter consigned the Norwegians to silver ©Getty Images



Norway were consigned to another silver medal in the women's event as their rivals Sweden claimed victory by 0.85sec and were 0.95sec ahead of Poland in third.

The Swedish pair of Stina Nilsson and Ida Ingemarsdotter were able to edge past their Norwegian counterparts in the final lap earning them a narrow victory.

"It feels great to beat the Norwegian team," said Nilsson.

"I knew Ingvild [Flugstad Østberg] would be very strong and my plan was to attack on the home stretch.

"The victory today has given us a lot of confidence before the World Championships in Falun."

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