A total of 135 athletes from 19 different countries have finished the first two days of strong competition at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Biathlon & Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Bessans, France.

In the Women's Cross-Country Skiing Sprint competition on 28 January, Paralympian Ambassador Verena Bentele (GER, B1) took first with her guide Thomas Friedrich. Coming in second and third were Belarus' Sviatlana Sakhanenka (B3) with her guide Imar Matlakhou and Russia's Mikhalina Lysova and her guide Alexey Ivanov respectively.

For the Men's Cross-Country Skiing Sprint competition the same day, Russia's Evgeniy Safronov (B2) took first with his guide Ural Gumerov. Coming in second and third were France's Thomas Clarion (B1) with his guide Stephane Passeron and Russia's Nikolay Polukhin (B2) with his guide Andrey Tokarev.

On 27 January, the Men's Biathlon 7.5km (LW10-12) competition saw Italy's Enzo Masiello (LW11) in first with a calculated time of 27:21.6. Following Masiello were Japan's Kozo Kubo and Norway's Trygve S. Larsen (LW12). In the Men's Biathlon 7.5km (LW2-9) competition, France's Yannick Bourseaux (LW6) took first with a calculated time of 25:57.1. Coming in second and third were Belarus' Siarhei Silchanka (LW8) and Ukraine's Grygorii Vovchynskyi respectively.

In the Women's Biathlon 7.5km (LW10-12) competition, Ukrainian athletes took the top three places. Lyudmyla Pavlenko (LW11.5) took first with a calculated time of 31:31.7, followed by Olena Iurkovska (LW12) and Svitlana Tryfonova (LW10.5) respectively. The Women's Biathlon 7.5km (LW2-9) saw Ukraine also in the top spot with Iuliia Batenkova (LW6) and her calculated time of 30:21.8. Coming in second and third were Canada's Jody Barber (LW8) and Poland's Katarzyna Rogowiec (LW5/7).

The 2010 IPC Biathlon & Cross-Country Skiing World Cup in Bessans, France, continues through 31 January. Competition is taking place at the Haute Maurienne Biathlon Stadium located in the commune of Bessans at an altitude of over 1,700 meters.

(The End)