Oberhof, Germany - Austria clinched the men's 4 x 7.5-kilometre relay in the biathlon World Cup ahead of Russia and Germany in Oberhof on Thursday.

The Austrian team of Daniel Mesotitsch, Friedrich Pinter, Dominik Landertinger and Christoph Sumann posted 1 hour 19 minutes 36.6 seconds to beat the Russian team by
8.7 seconds, with Germany 19.2 seconds behind.

Russian biathlete Ivan Cherezov was earlier suspended for an excessive haemoglobin level in his blood.

Cherezov, 28, will now have to undergo a doping control and is suspended from competition for five days, International Biathlon Union (IBU) vice-president Alfons Hoermann said.

His place in the team was taken by Yevgeny Ustyugov.

It is the second time Cherezov has been suspended for five days for an elevated haemoglobin level following a similar incident in December 2007 at a World Cup event in Poklujka, Slovenia.

While not being a doping violation, an elevated haemoglobin level could indicate doping abuse, the IBU says. (dpa)