The Norwegian shot clean at the Czech venue as she came home to win in 19min 28.4sec.

Røiseland won three golds at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics last year and two relay titles at the World Championships in Oberhof last month.

But she had not topped a World Cup podium this term, despite entering the season as the defending overall champion.

Røiseland, who boasts seven Olympic medals and 13 world titles in all, has missed several races due to injury.

"It's been over a year since I won a biathlon race," the 32-year-old said to TV 2.

"To be able to do it again today is incredibly good. 

"It means a lot.

"This is probably the biggest win for myself. 

"If you just want it enough, anything is possible. 

"I wasn't sure if I had won my last ski race, but I hadn't."

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold made it a Norwegian 1-2 as she missed one shot in the prone, clocking 19:48.9.

Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet of France also missed a shot in the prone and came third, stopping the watches at 19:57.7.

France's overall World Cup leader Julia Simon came home ninth.

She now has 843 points on top with six races left, a gap of 108 in front of Sweden's Elvira Oberg with 100 points available for a win.

Germany's Denise Herrmann-Wick leads the sprint standings on 310 points, with a gap of just 14 to Italy's Dorothea Wierer.

Wierer was fourth today to cut the gap, with Herrmann-Wick sixth.

Only one sprint event remains this season.

Pursuit races for both men and women will take place in Nové Město na Moravě tomorrow.