Anterselva - Slovenia's Jakov Fak finished third in the men's Biathlon World Cup mass start in Italy's Anterselva on Sunday to announce good form ahead of the Biathlon World Championships, which will take place in Slovenia's Pokljuka on 9-21 February.

Finishing ahead of the 33-year-old were Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway, currently the best biathlete in the world, and Quentin Fillon Maillet of France.

Boe was 31.3 seconds ahead of the Frenchman for his 52nd career World Cup win and 44.2 seconds ahead of Fak. Boe and Fak had to take one penalty loop and Maillet had to take two.

It was the perfect shooting in the last round that earned Fak the podium finish, as he was the only competitor in the leading group not to miss a single shot. He took the third place and kept it with good skiing.

This is podium finish number 26 for the Croatian-born Fak, but first in three years for the silver medallist from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018.

"I'm very happy with today's performance. I'm finally again on the podium after two long seasons. This is a very good feeling ahead of the World Championships," Fak told the press.

Commenting on the upcoming competition, he said a medal would require a very good performance and hope "that I will be able to perform so well that I can get to a medal."

The Slovenian biathlon team will have a shot break before gathering again in Pokljuka for what will be the largest winter sports event in Slovenia ever.