Canadian freestyle skier Mark Hendrickson wins slopestyle gold

Canada's Mark Hendrickson won his first-ever World Cup slopestyle skiing medal on Saturday, taking gold in ​Font Romeu, France.

The Calgary skier — whose previous best finish at a World Cup event was 10th — scored a 86.30 on his first run that stood up as the winner.

"I didn't really expect that at all," Hendrickson said after the event. "I know it's cliche, but I'm at a loss for words."

WATCH | Mark Hendrickson scores slopestyle gold:

Mark Hendrickson claims World Cup ski slopestyle gold

5 years ago

Duration 1:44

Canada's Mark Hendrkickson wins in France with a top run score of 86.30.

Jesper Tjader of Sweden (85.70) took silver while American Cody Laplante (83.45) won bronze.

Elena Gaskell was the top Canadian finisher on the women's side in eighth place, followed by Olivia Asselin in ninth.

You can also catch more freestyle skiing action on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on Road to the Olympic Games, our weekly show spotlighting the best high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world.