World Cup leader Soukalova edged by Franziska Hildebrand in Ruhpolding

Germany's Franziska Hildebrand gave her home fans plenty to cheer at Ruhpolding as she became the first woman to win two World Cup sprints this season.

Eurosport

Image credit: TNT Sports

Hildebrand was one of several athletes to shoot clean but she was quickest on the skis to post a winning time of 19:46.50 minutes in the 7.5km sprint on Friday.
Second went to Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic who was just nudged off top spot by 0.3 seconds while Finland's Kaisa Makarainen was third, a further two seconds back.
Hildebrand's teammate Laura Dahlmeier was 0.5 seconds off making it two Germans on the podium while Russia's Olga Podchufarova rounded off the top five.
Victory leaves Hildebrand third in the overall World Cup standings after she added to her previous victory in Hochfilzen back in December.
Soukalova's second consecutive runners-up spot strengthens her grip on the overall leader's bib as she moved onto 413 points, 39 clear of France's Marie Dorin Habert and 46 ahead of Hildebrand.
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