The cross-country World Cup once again saw the standings shuffled after round five in Val di Sole, Italy. In the women's race, there was a fifth winner in five events, with Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkowice) outsprinting Canada's Catharine Pendrel (Luna) to win only the second World Cup of her career. Pendrel regained the lead in the overall standings after losing it a week earlier in Champéry, Switzerland.


For the men's side, it came down to World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) against World Cup leader Julien Absalon (Orbea) in a sprint, and Schurter both won the race and took over the World Cup lead. This makes it three times now that Schurter has beaten Absalon in a sprint, in the past 12 months.