The double Olympic gold medallist extended his lead at the summit of the overall standings as he shot clean on his way to crossing the line in a time of 25min 03.3sec.

Fourcade proved too quick for Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway, who finished 8.1 seconds adrift in second.

Svendsen’s team-mate Johannes Thingnes Bø lost further ground on Fourcade in the race for the World Cup crown as he was third, 10.2 behind the victorious Frenchman.

Fourcade, who is bidding for a record seventh consecutive overall title, now has a total of 492 points.

Bø remains second having amassed 460 during the season so far, while third place is occupied by Jakov Fak of Slovenia.

Fak, who has 342 points, also slipped further behind in the battle for top spot as he could only manage seventh today.

The victory for Fourcade handed the French star his third triumph of the campaign and second straight win following his mass start success in Annecy in December.

It also maintained the Frenchman’s remarkable record of having finished on the podium in every race this season, a worrying sign for his rivals with the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang just around the corner.

"I had a perfect day at the shooting range, but I did not pick the perfect skis," said Fourcade.

"It was not too hard to shoot clean today; the wind was challenging but not as bad as yesterday for the women. 

"I took my time to secure clean shooting today."

The event in the German resort is due to continue tomorrow with the women's and men's pursuit races, held over 10km and 12.5km respectively.