Olympic champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway made a winning return to the Tour de Ski ©Getty Images

Olympic champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway made a winning return to the Tour de Ski as he claimed victory in the men's freestyle sprint at the Cross-Country World Cup in Lenzerheide.

Klæbo, who skipped last week's World Cup in Dresden and did not compete at last year's Tour de Ski after Norway pulled out because of COVID-19 concerns, took victory in the final after clocking 2min 39.04sec.

Richard Jouve of France, who occupies second place on the overall standings behind the three-time Olympic gold medallist, secured silver, 0.99sec adrift of Klæbo.

Jouve's compatriot Lucas Chavanat was third after finishing 1.26 behind the victorious Norwegian.

Klæbo, seeking a second Tour de Ski title, leads the race for the overall World Cup crown on 541 points.

Jouve is second on 327 points, with Russian Sergey Ustiugov third on 315.

Jessica Diggins of the United States won the women's event in a time of 3:00.12.

The Olympic team sprint gold medallist crossed the line 0.13 ahead of nearest challenger Mathilde Myhrvold of Norway in the final.

Third place went to Anamarija Lampic of Slovenia, who completed the course in 3:00.42.

Maja Dahlqvist of Sweden is top of the overall standings on 464 points, 64 clear of compatriot Frida Karlsson.