In the first of six races to be held over the next four days the 28-year-old Olympic silver medallist shot clean and then sped over the last 2.5km loop to win in 19min 47.5sec.

Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen finished second, 11.5 seconds behind, while Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand came third, 21.4 seconds behind the Norwegian to gain her first podium of the season.

"I really felt the height here, so I wanted to open slowly and have power at the end," Røiseland said.

"I think that was the right thing to do.

"Of course I was happy to hit all of the targets.

"It was a tough race."

On an overcast day with light winds at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Centre the big names all went out in the first group, with Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kumina, who eventually finished fifth, reaching the prone stage first.

Makarainen came in second, followed by Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi who currently sits second in the overall World Cup rankings.

Despite her fast start however, she ended up 12th.

Røiseland reached the standing phase in the lead group and shot clean for the second time to put her in a strong position for the win.

Following that, a very strong last loop saw Røiseland almost double her lead to seal victory.

Tomorrow the World Cup is due to continue with the men’s 10km sprint race, in which another Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bø, will look to top the podium.