Canada's Reece Howden wins World Cup ski cross gold in Georgia

Canadian ski cross racer Reece Howden captured gold on Saturday at a World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia, marking his fourth victory and fifth medal of the season.

Countrymate Courtney Hoffos also reached the podium with a third-place finish in the women's race.

Howden, a 26-year-old from Cultus Lake, B.C., beat Germany's Florian Wilmsmann to win the four-man big final. Italy's Simone Deromedis, who won Friday's race, took bronze.

Howden bounced back from a rough start to the Gudauri World Cup that saw him eliminated in the first round of Friday's knockout heats.

"I was not happy after yesterday," Howden said in a press release. "I wanted to really make a statement, and also, Deromedis is skiing really fast, and I did not want to give him another easy win, so I really laid it down and made sure I left it all on the course."

"Racing is hard right now, the competition is high, everybody's skiing really fast, and you've just got to focus on the better days."

Howden, a two-time Crystal Globe winner, has 27 podium finishes in 74 career World Cup races.

WATCH l Howden tops the podium in Georgia:

B.C.'s Reece Howden wins World Cup ski cross gold in Georgia

Hoffos, who hails from Windermere, B.C., won her second medal of the season and eighth of her career. The 27-year-old missed last season due to injury.

Italy's Jole Galli captured gold ahead of Switzerland's Fanny Smith.

Hoffos faced challenges after a slow start in the semifinal. She trailed behind compatriot India Sherret before eventually passing her and securing a spot in the four-woman final.

"It was feeling pretty good on the track all day, and after India passed me [in the semifinal], I knew I had some work to do, but I built up some speed at the end and had a bit