Henriette Engel Hansen of Denmark came first in the women's K1 ©Getty Images

Henriette Engel Hansen capped her return to canoe marathon racing with a podium topping performance in Belgium today.

The Dane won the women’s K1 at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) World Cup event in Hazewinkel in an exciting battle contested over 3.6 kilometres.

Engel Hansen, the 2014 world champion in the K2 1,000m category, went into the final stages of the race with her team-mate Emilie Rosenkilde after the pair had broken free of the field.

In the end though, it was the triple Olympian who pushed further ahead and picked up first place.

Dutch paddler Eef Haas came third.

Hazewinkel in Belgium is hosting the ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup stage ©ICF
Hazewinkel in Belgium is hosting the ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup stage ©ICF

In the men’s K1, France’s Quentin Urban produced a powerful finish to claim his first short track World Cup victory.

Hungarian paddler Adrian Boros came second while another Frenchman, Stephane Boulanger, picked up a bronze medal.

There was more success for France in the men’s C1 as Pierrick Martin held off Vaclev Havel of the Czech Republic for gold.

Another French paddler, Tanguy Soucheyre, finished third.

Action in Belgium continues tomorrow.