Jenny Owens has just missed a World Cup podium, finishing fourth in a ski cross event in Les Contamines, France, over the weekend.

Australian Institute of Sport & NSWIS athlete Owens, qualified in second place in the Les Contamines event, and then fought her way through the four woman head-to-head quarter final and semifinal rounds, finishing second each time to defending World Cup champion Ophelie David of France.

But the 30-year-old Perisher Blue skier got a poor start in the final, and despite several attempts to pass, had to be content with fourth place.

Norwegian Hedda Berntsen won the gold medal from David, with Katrin Offner of Austria taking the bronze.

The result puts Owens into seventh place on the World Cup standings on 65 points after the opening two events of the season. Berntsen leads the rankings on 145 points, 15 clear of David.

“I’m kind of happy but not super-excited,” Owens said.

“I had a bad start in the final run and obviously lost out in the end, but it’s a step forward for Flaine in the next couple of days, and certainly better than the sixteenth at the start of the week.”

The French resort of Flaine was the venue for one of Owens’ medal results last season.