Canada's Courtney Hoffos wins silver in World Cup ski cross opener

Courtney Hoffos opened the World Cup ski cross season by landing on the podium.

The native of Windermere, B.C., finished second in Thursday's big final to pick up a silver medal at Val Thorens, France.

Sweden's Sandra Naeslund returned to action after almost two years away from the sport due to injury to win gold. That also marked her 40th career victory on the World Cup circuit.

France's Mylene Ballet Baz rounded out the podium with a bronze-medal finish.

Canada's Britt Phelan finished second in the small final to end up in sixth-place overall.

On the men's side, it was an Italian 1-2 finish with Simone Deromedis and Edoardo Zorzi taking gold and silver, respectively. Youri Duplessis-Kergomard of France claimed bronze.

The top Canadian men's ski cross athlete was Kevin Drury, who did not finish in his quarterfinal heat.