Olympic champion Denise Herrmann-Wick made a big exclamation mark two months before the home World Championships in Oberhof.
The 33-year-old won the World Cup sprint in Hochfilzen and got the first success of the season for the German Ski Association (DSV).
After a flawless shooting performance, Herrmann-Wick triumphed in the race over 7.5 kilometers in 20:07.1 minutes in front of Marketa Davidova from the Czech Republic (1/+18.1 seconds) and Julia Simon from France (1/+20.1) .
After her eighth World Cup victory, Herrmann-Wick has created a brilliant starting position for the pursuit race over 10 kilometers on Saturday.
After a strong start in Kontiolahti, it was already the fifth podium finish of the winter for the DSV.
The rest of the German team missed out on a top 20 finish in the Hochfilzen sprint.
Franziska Preuss, who was still absent due to illness at the start in Finland, made two shooting errors on her return – as did Anna Weidel, Sophia Schneider and Vanessa Voigt.
Juliane Frühwirt did not make any mistakes, but was too weak on the cross-country ski run.
On Friday (1.45 p.m. / ZDF and Eurosport) the men's sprint continues over 10 kilometers.
On Saturday, in addition to the women's pursuers, the men's relay is on the agenda.
The women's relay and the men's pursuit are scheduled to conclude the World Cup on Sunday.
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