Nino Schurter has resolved to ride at the front to avoid getting caught up in skirmishes. He does this in an almost frightening manner. Only Alan Hatherly (RSA) can keep up with his pace, and so the Grisons rider and the South African seem to ride in harmony lap after lap. On the fifth of seven laps, Schurter asks his co-driver to take the lead, who instead turns into the tech & feed zone, whereupon Schurter attacks and continuously increases his lead over the last two laps. 

More exciting is the battle of a larger group for third place. Marcel Guerrini once again makes a strong impression in the final phase of a race. On the final lap, local rider Luca Braidot attacks. Only Filippo Colombo (SUI) and Mathis Azzaro (FRA) are able to keep up. Meanwhile, Nino Schurter celebrates his 36th World Cup victory, his eighth in Val di Sole. Azzaro wins the sprint for third place, Colombo finishes fifth.

"I love this place and this course," says Schurter in the winner's interview, "in between I wanted to save some energy, then I thought it would be better to break the others after all." He then reveals the secret of his long career: "You have to find the balance, do something else in between, recover and then come back motivated." 

1. Nino Schurter SUI
2. Alan Hatherly RSA
3. Mathis Azzaro FRA
4. Luca Braidot ITA
5. Filippo Colombo SUI
6. Simone Avondetto ITA
7. Marcel Guerrini SUI
8. Lars Forster SUI
9. Jordan Sarrou FRA
10. Jens Schuermans BEL

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in a league of her own

The French uber-biker Pauline Ferrand-Prévot doesn't let any tension build up. She took the lead on the first lap, shook off Puck Pieterse on the second and then rode her lonely laps in the increasingly hot Val di Sole (Italy). She felt a little tired after a hard day's training. She concentrated on her own pace and race. She is still building up for the Olympic Games and is trying to learn more in every race.

On the physically particularly tough course, there are hardly any groups behind her. The top ten ride almost the entire race individually, with gaps of 30 seconds or more. Puck Pieterse proves once again that as a young elite rider she is one of the best in the world, but loses 50 seconds to the winner. Candice Lill, on the other hand, is over the moon with her deficit, standing on a World Cup podium for the first time at the age of 32. Loana Lecomte (FRA) is already over a minute and a half behind in fourth place. Laura Stigger (AUT) is the best German-speaker in 6th place, ahead of compatriot Mona Mitterwallner. Alessandra Keller (SUI) is the fastest Swiss athlete in 10th place, but the gap of over 4 minutes is likely to give her at least as much cause for concern as the ranking.

1. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot FRA
2. Puck Pieterse NED
3. Candice Lill RSA
4. Loana Lecomte FRA
5. Savilia Blunk USA
6. Laura Stigger AUT
7. Mona Mitterwallner AUT
8. Haley Batten USA
9. Jenny Rissveds SWE
10. Alssandra Keller SUI

Short Track

On the unspectacular meadow circuit without any technical passages, the female racers put on an amazingly exciting race. The fact that Dutch rider Puck Pieterse and New Zealander Sam Gaze, an athlete who is also involved in road teams, came out on top suited the course.

Pieterse was clearly the most active rider in the field. When Pauline Ferrand-Prévot attacked on the last lap, she seemed to share the fate of many riders who tried to challenge the umpteen-time world champion. But Pieterse fought back and gave the Frenchwoman no chance.

Sina Frei's successful comeback

Sina Frei's comeback was also successful, as she returned from her hand fracture and was right back at the front, even if, as she said, she kept dropping back. The 6th place and thus a starting position in the front row are good omens for the race on Sunday. Alessandra Keller finished directly ahead of Frei. "As World Cup leader, of course I always want to be right at the front," she said at the finish, "but I wanted to finish at least eighth, which worked out well with fifth place."

The men's field stayed together for a long time, then a small group broke away, only Luca Schwarzbauer made an unsuccessful attempt at a solo run. In the final phase, Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo set the pace. However, they were unable or unwilling to keep up with the sprint specialists at the finish line. Sam Gaze relegated Victor Koretzky and the Belgian Jens Schuermans to second place. Schurter and Colombo rode in directly behind them. 

Women

1. Puck Pieterse NED
2. Pauline Ferrand Prévot FRA
3. Savilla Blunk USA
4. Candice Lill RSA
5. Alessandra Keller SUI
6. Sina Frei SUI
7. Rebecca Henderon AUS
8. Chiara Teocchi ITA
9. Linda Indergand SUI
10. Mona Mitterwallner AUT

Men

1. Sam Gaze NZL
2. Victor Koretzky FRA
3. Jens Schuermans BEL
4. Nino Schurter SUI
5. Filippo Colombo
6. Sebastian Fini Carstensen DEN
7. Jordan Sarrou FRA
8. Alan Hatherly RSA
9. Pierre de Froidement BEL
10. Mathias Flückiger SUI