The 23-year-old clocked 21min 01.9sec to edge home favourite Dorothea Wierer, while Podchufarova’s compatriot Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht, reigning 15km individual world champion, came through to take third.

The Russian’s podium finish was her first of the season as she crossed the line 22.1 seconds adrift of the winning pace, though she matched her teammate by shooting clean.

Frenchwoman Anais Bescond narrowly missed out on a medal as she could only manage fourth after amassing one penalty during her run.

The result had little bearing on the overall World Cup leaderboard, with Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic still the woman to beat.

Wierer, a member of the Italian team which won relay bronze at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, was the highest climber as she moved into fourth, while Podchufarova’s triumph lifted her into 10th.

“I am very, very happy; I have waited since the beginning of the season for this,” Podchufarova said.

“I knew that I was physically stronger, had trained harder and was mentally stronger than before.

“It is even better because my roommate is on the podium also.

“I like it [Antholz], it is cold and the snow is just like Russia.”

Ukraine’s Olena Pidhrushna, who would eventually finish fifth, was the early leader as she demonstrated good prone shooting to give herself a slender advantage over the rest of the field.

It didn’t last long, however, as Podchufarova produced a quick and clean stage to overhaul the Ukrainian before Wierer emerged as a serious contender.

The Italian was able to establish an eight second lead which was quickly erased by the Russian, who all-but sealed the victory on the standing stage as Wierer faltered, trailing by 14 seconds with only 2.5km to go after she was forced to go around the penalty loop.

She managed to claw back some of the deficit but eventually crossed the line eight seconds behind Podchufarova, with Yurlova-Percht winning the battle for bronze.

The event in Antholz continues tomorrow with the men’s 10km sprint race.