Contreras recovered her form after disappointing Olympics

Lying sixth after the first leg, the Spaniard produced a storming second run to finish in a combined time of two minutes, 22.64secs.

Austrian Nicole Hosp was 0.25secs behind in second, with Finland's Tanja Poutainen third in 2.23.16secs.

Contreras now has a chance of catching Sweden's Anja Paerson in the race for the season's giant slalom title.

"I tried everything in the second run and it was a course that suited me very well," said Contreras, who finished 13th in the Olympics.

"Now, I want to win the overall giant slalom World Cup title."

Contreras trails Paerson by 45 points in the overall standings with just one race remaining at Are, Sweden.

Results from Hafjell Women's Giant Slalom:

1. Maria Jose Rienda Contreras (Spain) 2:22.64 (1:09.61 + 1:13.03)
2. Nicole Hosp (Austria) 2:22.89 (1:09.79 + 1:13.10)
3. Tanja Poutiainen (Finland) 2:23.16 (1:09.04 + 1:14.12)
4. Michaela Dorfmeister (Austria) 2:23.29 (1:10.05 + 1:13.24)
5. Anja Paerson (Sweden) 2:23.43 (1:09.53 + 1:13.90)
6. Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2:23.45 (1:09.74 + 1:13.71)
7. Genevieve Simard (Canada) 2:23.64 (1:09.51 + 1:14.13)
8. Karen Putzer (Italy) 2:23.89 (1:09.65 + 1:14.24)
9. Tina Maze (Slovenia) 2:24.17 (1:09.82 + 1:14.35)
10. Nadia Fanchini (Italy) 2:24.21 (1:10.35 + 1:13.86)

Women's Giant Slalom overall standings: