Dmitriy Rostovtsev, centre, claimed victory in the men's cross-country skiing 10km mass start today ©Almaty 2017

Dmitriy Rostovtsev of Russia claimed victory in the men's cross-country skiing 10 kilometres mass start event on the final day of competition at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty in Kazakhstan.

It was one of the tightest races we have seen so far with the lead changing hands on several occasions.

Rostovtsev narrowly crossed the line first though at the Alatau Cross-Country Skiing & Biathlon Complex in a time of 1 hour 19min 37.5sec.

Following inches behind was another Russian, Valeriy Gontar, in 1:19:37.8.

Gontar had led the race with just 2.4km to go but was caught and overtaken by Rostovtsev in the dying stages.

Dmitriy Rostovtsev, right, crossed the line first in 1:19:37.5 ©Almaty 2017
Dmitriy Rostovtsev, right, crossed the line first in 1:19:37.5 ©Almaty 2017

Kazakhstan's Sergey Malyshev led at one stage of the race but was forced to settle for third in a time of 1:19:38.0.

Roared on by the home crowd, Malyshev was in front with just 5km of the race to go but tired and was left behind by the Russian duo.

This morning's success was the third gold medal Rostovtsev has collected in Almaty after he also won the men's 10km pursuit and was part of the winning 4x7.5km relay team.

The 23-year-old, who studies at the Moscow State Academy of Physical Education, also took silver in the men's 10km individual event.