FORT KENT – While the winner of Thursday’s men’s biathlon World Cup event here was no surprise, the second- and third-place finishers certainly weren’t used to being on the World Cup podium.

“This is the first time this season, and I [have been] waiting for two years because my last podium place was 2002,” said an elated Michael Greis of Germany after claiming second place in the 10-kilometer sprint in the second day of World Cup competition at the Maine Winter Sports Center.

In fact, Greis had to be reminded after the race, the 27-year-old did have another top-three finish earlier this season (third at a mass start race in Oberhof, Germany). Neither Greis nor third-place finisher Pavel Hurajt of Slovakia could touch winner Raphael Poiree of France, but the two gave each other a fight for second.

“I’m really glad because the season was long and sometimes you feel really weak,” Greis added. “I’m really surprised I performed so well. It’s not a problem that I’m behind Raphael.”

Not many of the men on the Cup tour have been in front of Poiree this year. He solidified his lead in the World Cup standings Thursday, completing the course here in a time of 23 minutes, 0.6 seconds – more than one minute ahead of Gries and Hurajt. The top three were all perfect on the shooting range, hitting 10-of-10 targets.

In the sprint competition, biathletes complete three loops of the course with two stages of shooting, the first in the prone position and the second standing. The top 60 finishers qualify for Friday’s pursuit competition, in which the sprint winners determine the starting order and start in the same intervals in which they finished in the sprint. There are four shooting rounds.

Jeremy Teela, an Anchorage, Alaska, native and resident of Jericho, Vt., was the top American finisher at 29th place. He was 2:26.7 behind Poiree and shot 80 percent (8 of 10 targets).

“It’s not good enough for the World Cup, but I haven’t been shooting well all season and this is about what I expected,” he said.

Conditions on the course Thursday made for some fast skiing and had a big effect on the finish. After several days of warmer, wet weather – not ideal for a sport that depends on hard, packed, slick snow – Poiree said the improved conditions made a big difference.

“I think it’s because the snow was a bit like ice and my ski was very good on the ice,” said the three-time Cup champion. “I can push my ski.”

Poiree essentially won the competition in the first loop, skiing the circuit in about eight minutes, 24.2 seconds better than Hurajt, who was in second at that point. Poiree quickened his pace in the second loop, completing it about three seconds faster than his first time around. Most of the biathletes slowed down on their second loops.

Greis overtook Hurajt in the second and third loops.

Because of the set-up of the sprint, in which biathletes start in 40-second intervals – skiiers can only rely on the stadium’s scoreboard that is set up in view of the finish line to see where they are ranked after each stage. Greis’ coaches were trying to update him on the course.

“I heard it on the track from my coaches, and I thought I was two seconds behind [the whole time],” he said. “On the last time check I heard I was four seconds in front on Pavel. It [made] me really happy cause it’s all the way [downhill] into finish. I watched the time and I was really glad to finish on the second.”

Slovakia coach Juraj Sanitra was clearly nervous during Hurajt’s run and crossed himself before the biathlete shot his first round.

“He did a very, very good job today,” said Milan Augustin, who is also a Slovakian coach. “Good ski, good shooting, and so then it’s good results.”

Greis jumped from 11th place to ninth in the overall Cup standings. Hurajt moved from 22nd to 21st overall. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway, one of the top bialtheles in the world and the defending Cup champion, was fourth with two penalties Thursday and remains in second place overall.

Announcers at the site here played up Hurajt’s unheralded status, but Augustin and Sanitra were quick to point out that he had placed third in a pursuit race at Brezno-Osberlie in Slovakia.

Jay Hakkinen of Kasilof, Alaska, had a disappointing day on the range. Hakkinen, the top-ranked American in the standings at 49th overall, finished in 46th place with four penalies Thursday.

Hakkinen said he was pleased with his effort on the course, but he faltered on the range.

“Today the shots looked good but they didn’t hit and I don’t know quite why,” he said. “But that’s the way it goes and I spent a little too much time in the penalty loop. … This time of year it’s good to feel like I’m skiing strong because a lot of guys are getting tired and that gives me more potential for the next races.”

Sixth-place finisher Michael Roesh was a pleasant surprise for the German team. The 19-year-old, who was perfect on the shooting range, had two second-place finishes at January’s junior world championships in France. Roesh’s father was an Olympic medalist in the relay at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

The World Cup continues Friday morning with the women’s pursuit at 10 a.m., followed by the men’s pursuit at 11.