Ruhpolding, Germany  - Norway led from start to finish as Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and his team-mates ended a 12-month biathlon World Cup men's relay rot on Thursday.

Emil Hegle Svendsen, Alexander Os, Halvard Hanevold and Bjoerndalen won the 4x7.5 kilometres event in 1 hour 24 minutes 54.0 seconds. It was Norway's third win in a row in Ruhpolding but they had not topped a relay podium since the 2008 edition of the race.

Hosts Germany trailed by 1:20.2 minutes in a season-best second place while two-time season winners Austria had to be content with third place, 1:43.1 minutes off the pace.

The Ruhpolding events continue with a women's sprint on Friday. (dpa)