Gallivare, Sweden - Charlotte Kalla delighted a Swedish home crowd on Saturday when she won the cross-country skiing World Cup season-opener.

Kalla, 21, dominated the 10 kilometres freestyle race in 24 minutes 7.8 seconds from former World Cup and world champion Marit Bjoergen of Norway (24:32.2) and Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland (24:39.8).

It was the fourth career World Cup win for the 2008 Tour de Ski champion Kalla, who used to train for several years on the slopes of Gallivare just north of the Arctic Circle.

Kalla is one if the main contenders for the World Cup title in the new season. The two-time defending champion Virpi Kuitunen of Finland finished off the pace on saturday, almost one minute slower than Kalla.

The first men's race of the season over 15km was scheduled for later in the day. (dpa)