Cross-country skier Friedrich Moch narrowly missed the podium at the start of the World Cup in Canmore, Canada, but with fourth place he once again achieved a top result in his best season to date.
In the difficult mass start race over 15 km in free style, the 23-year-old was ultimately only 0.8 seconds short of third place.
Moch, who surprisingly came second at the Tour de Ski at the turn of the year, was narrowly beaten by the Austrian Mika Vermeulen in the finish sprint.
Pyeongchang Olympic champion Simen Hegstad Krüger won confidently, 9.8 seconds ahead of World Cup leader Harald Östberg Amundsen (both Norway), Moch was 11.1 seconds behind.
Florian Notz ran in 13th place (+ 32.9 seconds). Anian Sossau (32nd), Lucas Bögl (33rd) and Florian Knopf (34th) narrowly missed out on World Cup points.