The five-time Olympic champion claimed his 61st World Cup win, clocking 2min 30.58sec.

His compatriot Haavard Solaas Taugboel took the silver medal, finishing 0.56 seconds later.

For the hosts, Federico Pellegrino pushed towards the end to complete the podium.

The two-time Olympic seilver medallist won bronze with a time of 2:31.30.

"It was a tough sprint," Klæbo said after the win.

"The course is a little bit different from what we have been doing earlier (this season).

"I haven't had my best days here in Toblach before, so I am really satisfied with finally climbing at the top of the podium again."

Norway's Erik Valnes finished fourth while Lucas Chanavat of France finished fifth.

In the women women's sprint, Beijing 2022 champion Jonna Sundling of Sweden took the gold medal in 2:49.76.

Compatriot Maja Dahlqvist  was 0.65sec behind in second while Jessie Diggins of the United States claimed the bronze medal in 2:50.57.

"It was a tough day but I had a really good body and it's better than last week," Sundling said.

Two more Swedes in Emma Ribom and Linn Svahn finished fourth and fifth respectively.