Näeslund roars to victory in Innichen

BySportsbeat

Published 22/12/2018 at 13:09 GMT

Sandra Näeslund roared to victory as she took home gold at the Ski Cross World Cup opener in Innichen, Italy.

Switzerland's Fanny Smith (C) celebrates after winning the women's FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Are, Sweden next to Canada's Marielle Thompson (2nd) and Sweden's Sandra Naslund (R) on March 15, 2014.

Image credit: Getty Images

The Swede had previously finished second behind Switzerland’s Fanny Smith in both of the weekend’s trials but will head into Christmas as a World Cup winner.

Näeslund narrowly missed out on a medal in Pyeongchang, finishing fourth but took the lead from the very beginning of the race and never relinquished her position as she let out a victory roar on the finish line.

The 2017 world champion finished ahead of Canada’s Marielle Thompson and Sanna Luedi of Switzerland. Smith could only manage a fifth-place finish.

Skiercross