Cross-Country skiing news - Therese Johaug scoops Lillehammer World Cup crown

The Norwegian Olympic gold medallist blew away all opposition to clinch the 10km freestyle title and gain a 44th individual World Cup victory of her career.

The seven-time World Champion completed the course in 26:22.4 to finish 9.2 seconds ahead of second placed Swede Ebba Andersson.

Johaug, who sealed her first World Cup victory in over 1000 days last week after testing positive for anabolic steroid clostebol in 2016 and was banned for the 2018 Winter Olympics, was thrilled to come out on top on a notoriously difficult course.

"The track in Lillehammer is really tough. It's hard but I love it," she said.

"I had to fight for myself out there. It was hard conditions for me. I heard that Ebba Andersson was really fast behind me, so I had to work hard all the time.

"The sprint on Friday was good. I was just seven seconds behind the leaders, so I was really happy with that. The race was really good and I am looking forward to Sunday."

Three-time Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Kalla completed the podium by winning bronze to finish 15.7 seconds behind her Swedish compatriot.

PyeongChang Olympic gold medallist Ragnhild Haga finished down the leaderboard in sixth place and nearly a minute behind Johaug.