Reece Howden seals Crystal Globe with World Cup triumph on home snow, Fanny Smith won the women’s race in Craigleith

Reece Howden claimed World Cup gold on home snow at the ski cross meet in Craigleith to seal victory in the overall Crystal Globe standings.

Much to the delight of his home crowd, the Canadian fended off competition from Florian Wilmsmann and Youri Duplessis Kergomard to strike gold.

Germany’s Wilmsmann was forced to settle for silver, with Frenchman Duplessis Kergormard in third and his compatriot Terence Tchiknavorian just missing out on a podium place in fourth.

Victory for Howden means that he seals the Crystal Globe crown with a race to spare, with his total of 696 points now out of reach.

Sweden’s David Mobaerg sits in second overall, losing ground in the standings having failed to make it out of his quarter-final race in Craigleith.

Wilmsmann sits in third overall, with Duplessis Kergomard in fourth.

Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Fanny Smith was victorious in the women’s event.

The Swiss took gold ahead of Canadians Courtney Hoffos and Marielle Thompson, who took silver and bronze respectively in their home meet.

However, there was disappointment for Hannah Schmidt, who finished fourth behind Smith and her fellow Canadians.

Victory for Smith sees her sit second in the World Cup standings with one race to go, though Sweden’s Sandra Naeslund has already wrapped up the overall crown.

Naeslund won the first nine competitions this season and after missing the tenth race in Veysonnaz, she also did not take to the startline today.

Having won in Veysonnaz and again in Craigleith, Smith is well placed to finish second overall with third-placed Thompson her nearest challenger.

Smith sits on 641 points with Thompson on 584, though both totals pale in comparison to Naeslund’s total of 900 points.