FORT KENT – Russia’s Olga Pyleva was alone as she cruised to victory down the final hill of the biathlon course in Saturday’s World Cup women’s mass start. Sven Fischer of Sweden was also all alone as he won the men’s race that followed the women.

But a photo finish in the 15-kilometer men’s event and a final sprint in the 12.5-kilometer women’s race made for lots of drama as more than 6,000 fans gathered at the Maine Winter Sports Center for the final day of competition in the World Cup.

It was an exciting way to wrap up four days of Cup action. Liv Grete Poiree came from behind to overtake Uschi Disl in the final five meters for third place, while Ole Einar Bjoerndalen edged Sergei Rozhkov for second place in the men’s race.

It was also a historic day for the U.S. as Anchorage, Alaska’s Rachel Steer became the first American woman to qualify for the mass start in international competition. Athletes who are ranked in the top 30 participate in the mass start, which put the 37th-ranked Steer in an alternate’s position. Several athletes dropped out, so by Saturday morning Steer gained a spot in the race. She finished 29th out of 29 women who completed the race.

In the women’s race, Germany’s Disl, who became a fan favorite this week, seemed to let up a bit as she neared the finish. It was as if she had no idea Poiree was so close.

But as Disl slowed, Poiree kept up her momentum while Disl had to restart her sprint.

“I don’t think that Uschi, she knew that I was coming behind …,” said Norway’s Poiree, who leads the World Cup point standings. “I was trying very hard. [It was] lucky for me she didn’t see that I come so [close] I could finish this way.”

Poiree said she picked up a lot of time on the final uphill but never caught Disl until the last few meters. The two finished one-tenth of a second apart.

Pyleva, the second-ranked woman in the world, had no shooting penalties and finished in 37 minutes, 14.6 seconds. In the mass start all 30 biathletes start at the same time and complete four shooting stages – two prone, two standing – and five loops.

Russia’s Anna Bogali was 28.5 seconds behind with three penalties.

Poiree struggled with five misses on the range but made up for them on the track. She admitted she’s feeling tired as the Cup season nears its end, but that didn’t bother her as she overtook Disl.

“I think you forget how you hurt in your leg,” she said. “You just give everything to make it. I did it.”

In the men’s race, Fischer had already crossed the finish line in 36:58.3 as Norway’s Bjoerndalen and Russia’s Rozhkov battled over the last straightaway. Bjoerndalen got his skis ahead of Rozhkov, and a photo finish determined the runner-up and third place.

Bjoerndalen had to ski fast – he had three penalties where Rozhkov had a clean race. The Norwegian went 6:19.2 in the last loop, more than 10 seconds better than the Russian.

“You can never give up in the mass start because you have always a chance because it’s so close in the last

,” said Bjoerndalen, who is second in the men’s Cup standings.

It was the second time this season Rozhkov has been edged at the finish line. He tried to take an inside curve on his way toward the finish line, but didn’t pick up the speed he had hoped for.

“I must [change] my technique for finish,” he said with a smile. “… I think now my technique, it’s not so good.”