Bromley in action on the sled he designed

Bromley, from Rossendale in Lancashire, beat 34 other competitors.

It was only his second win in a World Cup event, and came four years after his first victory, also in Calgary.

Mike Callan, secretary of the British Bob Skeleton Association, said: "This is a fantastic result both for Kristan and for British sport."

The US team are extremely strong on this track, they will be hard to beat Kristan Bromley

Bromley is back in action on Saturday, in the second event of the seven-leg competition, when he races at Lake Placid in America.

The 31-year-old is predicting a tough race, with temperatures on the twisting track as low as -16C.

He said: "The US team are extremely strong on this track and with a very technical course, extreme weather conditions and high-speed curves, they will be hard to beat.

"I want to maintain a top five overall ranking for when we start the second half of the season in Europe, which will give me a good chance of securing a top four overall finish."

Bromley works as a research officer at the University of Bath and designed his own sled.

Bromley works as a research officer at Bath University

He is also able to train at the university's 125m English Institute of Sport push-start track.

Bromley is ultimately gearing up for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

He competed at the last winter Games, at Salt Lake City in 2002, and finished 13th.

In last season's World Cup, Bromley finished sixth overall despite being dogged by injuries.