The Austrian venue is hosting the second stage of the season, following Östersund in Sweden having hosted four days of competition across November and the start of December.

Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson heads the competition in Hochfilzen as the leader in the men’s World Cup standings.

Samuelsson won consecutive sprint competitions at his home event, before recording a second-placed finish in the 12.5-kilometre pursuit.

The 24-year-old, who won pursuit silver and relay gold at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, will seek to maintain his overall lead in Austria.

He will seek to win a third consecutive men’s 10km sprint competition of the season tomorrow, with the 12.5km pursuit following on Saturday (December 10).

The four women’s races this season each saw different winners, with Sweden’s Hanna Oberg and Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser winning sprint competitions.

The Czech Republic’s Marketa Davidova won the 15km individual event in Östersund, while Norway’s Marta Olsbu Roiseland won the 10km pursuit race.

Reigning overall women’s World Cup champion Tiril Eckhoff will seek to launch her season after a frustrating start in Östersund.

The Norwegian won 12 events last season but has yet to secure a podium finish this campaign.