It&rsquo;s time to dig out and dust off the cross country spikes! The road to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December begins this weekend.&nbsp;
The famous TCS Liding&ouml;loppet takes place in Lidingo, just to the east of Stockholm, on Saturday (23) and is one of eight World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze events to be held in Europe in 2023-24, all of which fall under the administration of European Athletics.&nbsp;
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The full calendar (as of 21 September) can be found <a href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/2e479d82-5d6f-4c9d-9f23-a2ab02701504/Calendar%20WA%20Cross%20Country%20Tour%202024%20Europe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>
</li>
</ul>
Five of those events take place before the European Cross Country Championships and are generally a useful indicator of who&rsquo;s in form and who could challenge for medals at the focal point of the continental cross country season.
The Liding&ouml;loppet is one of the world&rsquo;s longest running cross country events on the calendar with the first iteration dating back to 1965. The event is also something of an outlier on the cross country circuit with the senior races held over a non-traditional distance of 30 kilometres.
But whoever wins will follow in the footsteps of some illustrious names. The legendary Grete Waitz from Norway won the discontinued 15km race on 12 occasions between 1976 and 1988 along with former world marathon record-holders Ingrid Kristiansen (1987) and Tegla Loroupe (1992, 1994)&nbsp;while leading Swedish distance runners Malin Ewerlof (1996, 2001, 2009) Mustafa Mohamed (2003-04, 2008), Napoleon Solomon (2017, 2018) and Samuel Tsegay (2022) have all triumphed in the 30km event.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/d6127be6-9c5c-4723-9712-099280b7bf48?width=5472&amp;height=3648" alt="Foto: Peter Holgersson AB">
With up to 30,000 runners from 70 countries expected to take part across all distances, there is a strong mass participation element to the Liding&ouml;loppet which was once described by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe as &ldquo;as one of the world&rsquo;s great cross country running competitions.&rdquo; The Liding&ouml;loppet is also listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world&rsquo;s biggest cross country race.
<h2 dir="ltr">Next stop...Dublin</h2>
The World Athletics Cross Country Tour in Europe heads south to Dublin (15 October) and Belfast (21 October) the following month before the race for selection for the Spanish team at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships begins in earnest with the famous Cross Internacional Zornotza in Amorebieta - another event which can boast a rich tapestry of history dating back to 1954 - one day later on 22 October.&nbsp;
The last fixture on the calendar before the SPAR European Cross Country Championships is the Warandecross in Tilburg on 26 November, an event which always attracts strong Dutch and European athletes - many of whom have gone on to feature in the race for medals at the European Cross Country Championships.
This brings the SPAR European Cross Country Championships into view with this year&rsquo;s edition on 10 December returning to Laken Park in Brussels for the second time after the Belgian capital first staged the event in 2008.
Unbeaten in European Cross Country Championships history, Jakob Ingebrigtsen could aim to extend this remarkable record by challenging for his third successive senior title - and his seventh in total - while his Norwegian teammate Karoline Bjerkeli Gr&oslash;vdal is very likely to target a hat-trick of individual titles in the senior women&rsquo;s race.&nbsp;
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/02535dd7-e973-4330-9280-c0a276c883de?width=3000&amp;height=2000" alt="Getty Images 1245539347">
From a domestic standpoint, a full strength Belgian team could challenge for a medal in the mixed relay which would add to their bronze from 2021 while former European U23 cross country champion Isaac Kimeli represents their best chance of winning an individual medal in the senior races.
In sub-zero temperatures, Kimeli won bronze on a twisty and undulating course in Turin behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen last December as well as silver behind another Ingebrigtsen - this time Filip - five years ago on a flat albeit muddy course in Tilburg.&nbsp;
The SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be streamed live in its entirety on the All-Athletics platform through the European Athletics website and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.&nbsp;
Steven Mills for European Athletics
&nbsp;

The road to Brussels begins! Two days to go to the 2023-24 World Athletics Cross Country Tour

“Europe is still at the heart of cross country running” 

Sweden&rsquo;s Sarah Lahti successfully defended her 8km title at the Warandecross in Tilburg on Sunday (26) on the road to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December.
Lahti completed the second part of a Nordic double in the senior races after Norway&rsquo;s Senay Fissehatsion converted his promising recent form on the roads to the cross country with victory in the men&rsquo;s 10km.
The Warandecross is a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver level event and the last race on the European calendar before Brussels. A full race replay can be found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFg5v_f3pE4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In a near repeat of last year&rsquo;s race, Lahti established a big lead of around 20 seconds on the first lap which she didn&rsquo;t relinquish. Lahti covered the 8km in the Oude Warande in 26:25 - 15 seconds faster than last year - to become the first athlete since Sifan Hassan in 2015 to win back-to-back titles at the Warandecross.&nbsp;
Belgium&rsquo;s Jana Van Lent, who has been selected for the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships, warmed up for her home championships in Brussels with a runner-up finish in 26:57 with Merel van der Marel third on home soil in 27:18.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/5158b775-642a-4154-b668-39b8d58af2c4?width=2048&amp;height=1365" alt="2023 Warandeloop Preview Zondag 236">
The senior men&rsquo;s 10km was also dominated by international athletes with Fissehatsion - who began his autumn season with a 60:55 half marathon performance in Copenhagen - taking a notable win ahead of Spain&rsquo;s former European 5000m champion Ilias Fifa.
Behind the leading two - both of whom were timed at 29:10 for the 10km distance comprised largely on twisty woodland terrain - Belgium&rsquo;s Thomas Vanoppen completed the podium in third in 29:17 with Filmon Tesfu the leading Dutch finisher in fourth in 29:23.
In the build-up to the European Cross Country Championships, Jesse Fokkenrood from the Netherlands was the first U23 finisher in 10th in 29:33.&nbsp;
The full results can be found <a href="https://evenementen.uitslagen.nl/2023/warandeloop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<h2 dir="ltr">Keith builds momentum with victory in Liverpool</h2>
European U23 5000m champion Megan Keith dominated the senior women&rsquo;s race at the Liverpool Cross Challenge on Saturday (25), the British trial race for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
The 21-year-old dispatched her older and more experienced rivals in convincing fashion, powering through the mud for victory in the senior women&rsquo;s 8.1km in 26:02.&nbsp;
She had a 53 second wait to shake hands with the runner-up Abbie Donnelly (26:55) with Izzy Fry and world 10,000m eighth-placer Jessica Warner-Judd third (27:05) and fourth (27:09) respectively.
Based on her showings in Cardiff and Liverpool in recent weeks, Keith will begin as the outstanding favourite to add the European U23 cross country title to her U20 gold medal from Fingal-Dublin in 2021.
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/C0EmPybtFrZ/?img_index=1"]
While Keith&rsquo;s victory was broadly anticipated, there was an upset in the senior men&rsquo;s race with Hugo Milner - primarily a triathlete these days - easing to the senior men&rsquo;s 9.8km title in 28:38 by a clear distance ahead of 1500m specialist Matt Stonier who finished quickly to take second in 29:02.
Stonier will be joined on a strong U23 team in Brussels by European U23 10,000m champion Rory Leonard who finished fourth in 29:03.
In other races, European cross country fourth-placer Innes Fitzgerald won the U20 women's race by 30 seconds in 14:30 while Josh Lay (4:28) and Bethan Morley (5:06) won the short course 1500m titles, the trial race for the mixed relay in Brussels next month.&nbsp;
<h2 dir="ltr">Elsewhere around Europe&hellip;</h2>
Bastien Augusto won one of the principal French selection races for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels in Carhaix on Sunday (26).
Fresh from a recent 27:40 10km, Augusto won the 9km in 27:13 ahead of multiple European cross country team gold medallist Hugo Hay (27:16) and Fabien Palcau (27:17).&nbsp;
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/C0HP6ngIVar"]
At the German Cross Country Championships in Perl on Sunday (26), steeplechaser Elena Burkard won the senior women&rsquo;s 6.8km title in 22:40 ahead of Eva Dieterich in 22:43.
Markus Gorger won the senior men&rsquo;s 9.7km by a clear margin from Filmon Tekleberhan - 27:45 to 28:31.&nbsp;
Behind Kenyans Edward Zakayo (26:30) and Vincent Rono (26:49) - both of whom compete for Portuguese clubs - Etson Barros won the senior men&rsquo;s title at the Portuguese Cross Country Championships in Amora on Sunday.
Multiple European cross country medallist Mariana Machado won the senior women&rsquo;s race ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Fancy Cherono.

Lahti retains her Warandecross title in Tilburg on the road to Brussels 2023 

Sweden&rsquo;s Sarah Lahti will defend her title at the Warandecross in Tilburg, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver meeting, on Sunday (26) on the road to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December.
The Warandecross will be streamed live on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFg5v_f3pE4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Athletics YouTube channel</a> without restrictions from 12.00pm local time (CET) on Sunday and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.&nbsp;
In one of the principal selection races for Brussels, Lahti will face a strong Dutch contingent in the senior women&rsquo;s 8km including 3000m steeplechase specialist Veerle Bakker, the top Dutch finisher at last year&rsquo;s European Cross Country Championships in tenth.&nbsp;
[INSTAGRAM ID="http://www.instagram.com/p/CleN3XvLEjO/?img_index=1"]
Other leading international contenders include Finland&rsquo;s Nathalie Blomqvist, Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Anna Vindics-Toth and Juliette Thomas, who finished second in the Belgian Cross Country Championships last week to seal her place on the national team for Brussels next month.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In the senior men&rsquo;s 10km, Noah Schutte, Filmon Tesfu and Dutch cross country champion Tom Hendriske are among the leading domestic athletes who will be looking to become the first Dutch winner in Tilburg since Mike Foppen in 2019.&nbsp;
But standing in their way are the likes of Germany&rsquo;s 27:30.01 10,0000m performer Nils Voigt, Spain&rsquo;s former European 5000m champion Ilias Fifa and the improving Norwegian Senay Fissehatsion who has showed excellent form on the roads in recent weeks with lifetime bests of 28:26 for 10km and 60:55 for the half marathon.&nbsp;
The streaming begins at 12.00pm local time (CET) with the U20 men's race. The men's senior race takes place at 12.50pm followed by the senior women's race at 1.30pm and the men's and women's short course races at 2.08pm and 2.19pm. The full timetable and more information on the event can be found on the <a href="https://warandeloop.nl/warandecross/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warandecross website</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Some of the all-time greats of distance running have triumphed at the Warandecross which dates back to 1956. Former champions include Kenya's Tegla Loroupe (1992), Ethiopia's Gete Wami (1995-97) and Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands (2013-15) on the women&rsquo;s side and Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele (2000) on the men&rsquo;s side.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="https://exchbrussels2023.com/en/tickets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/a339624e-e43d-41b4-bc6a-4a9d65f95576?width=1600&amp;height=400" alt="651e9039902491413508099c"></a>

Lahti to defend her Warandecross title in Tilburg on the road to Brussels 2023 

Carolina Johnson became the first Swedish winner of the women&rsquo;s 30km since 2017 at the TCS Liding&ouml;loppet, a World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver event, on Saturday (23).
In the first of five World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze events to be held in Europe in the build-up to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December, Johnson won over the atypical cross country distance of 30km in 1:54:25 ahead of four-time winner and course record-holder Sylvia Medugu from Kenya in 1:56:08.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Maybe it wasn't what everyone had expected but I still had the goal of reaching a top position. The goal was still high up, maybe at the very top,&rdquo; said Johnson as reported by SVT.&nbsp;
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/b09c660e-1e9e-4535-881b-ffbdc7e39a71?width=5000&amp;height=5000" alt="230923 Lidingoloppet 029">
A former European U20 3000m steeplechase silver medallist, Johnson&rsquo;s ascent into the senior ranks has been blighted by injuries but the 27-year-old has aspirations of representing Sweden on the track next year at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships and the Olympic Games in Paris.
&ldquo;It wouldn't really have been me if I hadn't aimed for the biggest and I think that everything is possible. Besides, I have a lot left to do and have a lot to get out,&rdquo; said Johnson.&nbsp;
American international Diego Estrada won the men&rsquo;s 30km in 1:39:11 ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s Linus Rosdahl in 1:40:27, adding his name to an illustrious roll-of-honour which includes the likes of 1980 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Suleiman Nyambui from Tanzania and Kenya&rsquo;s Douglas Wakihurii, the 1987 world marathon champion.
More than 25,000 runners from 70 countries took part across the programme, signalling a return to pre-pandemic levels of participation in the world&rsquo;s biggest cross country race.
The next European fixture on the World Athletics Cross Country Silver and Bronze tour is the Autumn Open International in Dublin, Ireland.&nbsp;
The full calendar can be found <a href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/2e479d82-5d6f-4c9d-9f23-a2ab02701504/Calendar%20WA%20Cross%20Country%20Tour%202024%20Europe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;

Johnson upsets four-time winner Medugu as cross country season begins at the Lidingöloppet 

Femke Bol made a perfect start to her indoor season at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston by setting a women&rsquo;s 500m world best of 1:05.63.
The 22-year-old Dutch runner, who has Olympic bronze and world silver medals at 400m hurdles, laid down a huge marker for a season where she hopes, firstly, to defend her European indoor 400m title in Istanbul before seeking a first global gold at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Her committed performance jump-started the second World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of the season, which was making its debut appearance at the TRACK at New Balance meeting in Brighton, Massachusetts.
Bol eclipsed the 17-year-old mark of 1:06.31 to finish almost three seconds clear of Jamaica&rsquo;s Leah Anderson, who recorded a national record of 1:08.34.
But she was typically pragmatic afterwards as she commented: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really for my 400m hurdles, because you need a strong last part."
[TWITTER ID="http://twitter.com/WorldAthletics/status/1621981826083340288"]
She knows that well enough having seen her huge effort in Oregon last year bettered by an extraordinary late surge from home athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone en route to an equally extraordinary world record of 50.68, metres faster than Bol&rsquo;s personal best of 52.03.
Bol &nbsp;added: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just super happy to have it worked out like this. No, I&rsquo;m not planning to go further than 500m. Now I&rsquo;m moving to some 400s before I do the European Indoor Championships.&rdquo;
Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir, who has the possibility of winning a third consecutive 1500/3,000m double at next month&rsquo;s European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, got her season off to a winning start in the 3000m, where she moved clear of all but fellow Briton Melissa Courtney-Bryant by the halfway point before coming home in 8:40.34, with her compatriot second in 8:41.09 and two other Britons who ran personal bests in third and fourth place &ndash; Katie Snowdon in 8:47.41, and Hannah Nuttall in 8:47.72.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/941647ca-2e12-42ba-aac7-b4d2fba911c6?width=4900&amp;height=3267" alt="Getty Images 1462826670" />
Ireland&rsquo;s Ciara Mageean, who took 1500m silver behind Muir at last year&rsquo;s European Athletics Championships in Munich, looked out of sorts after completing a tough training block and failed to finish.
Despite getting himself boxed in on the run-in, Britain&rsquo;s Neil Gourley beat New Zealand&rsquo;s longtime leader Sam Tanner on the line to win the men&rsquo;s mile by one hundredth of a second in 3:52.84, a personal best and the fastest time run this season.

Bol opens her season  with world 500m best in Boston

Serbia&rsquo;s Elzan Bibic and Sweden&rsquo;s Sarah Lahti strode to comfortable victories at the Warandecross in Tilburg on Sunday (27), the last major continental cross country fixture before the SPAR European Cross Country Championships on 11 December.
The Warandecross was the fifth and final World Athletics Cross Country Tour event with Silver-label status in Europe for the 2022-23 season and also served as the venue for this year&rsquo;s Dutch Cross Country Championships.
On the road to Piemonte-La Mandria Park, Bibic won the senior men&rsquo;s 10km in 29:26. He defeated a field that was composed predominantly of Dutch athletes with Stan Niesten and Filmon Tesfu finishing second and third respectively and both timed at 29:34.
Already a medallist in the U20 and U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships, Bibic will be making his debut in the senior race in La Mandria Park next month.&nbsp;
Bibic won U20 bronze behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Tilburg in 2018 - albeit at a different venue to the one which is traditionally used for the Warandecross which dates back to 1956 in terms of antiquity - before graduating to U23 silver behind France&rsquo;s Jimmy Gressier in 2019.&nbsp;
In the senior women&rsquo;s race, Sarah Lahti from Sweden followed up her victory from Mol at the end of last month with another significant European victory. Lahti won by an even greater margin than Bibic, covering the 8km in 26:40 ahead of Silke Jonkman (26:56) and Diane Van Es (27:07).
Lahti is also targeting the European Cross Country Championships next month where the Swedes will also be strong contenders for a team medal. The Swedish team for the senior women's race also includes reigning individual silver medallist Meraf Bahta and Samrawit Mengsteab, the surprise bronze medal at the 2019 edition of the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon.
There was also keen interest in the men&rsquo;s U20 6km which featured three of Europe&rsquo;s brightest distance running prospects including 17-year-old Niels Laros, the Dutch phenomenon who broke the European U18 bests at 1500m and 3000m this summer and won gold medals in both events at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem.
However, the youngest of the triumvirate had to settle for third in 18:18 behind Norway&rsquo;s European U20 10,000m record-holder Abdullahi Dahir Rabi who won by two seconds from Denmark&rsquo;s Joel Ibler Lilles&oslash; - 18:05 to 18:07.
Rabi and Lilles&oslash; won silver and bronze respectively in the U20 race in Fingal-Dublin last year and will be looking to ameliorate their positions in their final year of eligibility before they progress into the U23 ranks in 2023.
Hungary&rsquo;s Greta Varga, who finished seventh in the U20 race at the European Cross Country Championships at the age of 15, was the most decisive winner of the programme. Now 18, Varga won the U20 4.3km in 14:55 by more than half-a-minute from Dione Schipper in 15:29.
Full results <a href="https://evenementen.uitslagen.nl/2022/warandeloop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Bibic and Lahti dominate in Tilburg on the road to the European Cross

From the famous Warandecross in Tilburg to national championship and trial events taking place all across Europe, this weekend should give us a clearer indication of who is in form and who could challenge for medals ahead of the 28th SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park near Turin on 11 December.
With the continental championships looming into view, this is where the best of the action is happening on an action-packed and exciting weekend of cross country running.
<h2>Leading Dutch runners face strong Swedish opposition in Tilburg</h2>
The Warandecross in Tilburg on Sunday (27) is the final World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver meeting to take place before the European Cross Country Championships and also serves as the Dutch Championships and selection race for La Mandria Park.
The Warandecross will be streamed live <a href="https://warandeloop.nl/live-stream/">here</a> from 10.45am local time.
Beaten in a sprint finish by Switzerland&rsquo;s Jonas Raess last year, Mike Foppen is the favourite to win not only the Dutch title but to take the overall victory in the 10km. His main domestic rival will be veteran Dutch marathon runner and former winner Khalid Choukoud with international opposition coming from Sweden&rsquo;s 2018 winner Napoleon Solomon.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/2d1580a6-502c-4c27-a192-cb0c4f46e468?width=1440&amp;height=810" alt="Mike Foppen" />
Jip Vastenburg and Maureen Koster, both of whom were part of the gold medal-winning Dutch team when the 2018 European Cross Country Championships were staged in Tilburg albeit at a different venue, are among the standout entrants for the senior women&rsquo;s 8km. However, the pre-race favourite is Sweden&rsquo;s Sarah Lahti who won a World Athletics Cross Country Tour event in Mol last month.
And there will also be keen interest in the men&rsquo;s U20 race which could serve as a gauge of form for the European Cross Country Championships. European U18 1500m and 3000m champion Niels Laros will test his strength over 6km against Norway&rsquo;s Abdullahi Dahir Rabi and Denmark&rsquo;s Joel Ibler Lilles&oslash;, the silver and bronze medallists in the U20 race at last year&rsquo;s European Cross Country Championships.&nbsp;
Some of the greats of global distance running have triumphed in a cross country fixture which dates back to 1956 including Tegla Loroupe (1992), Gete Wami (1995-97) and Sifan Hassan (2013-15) on the women&rsquo;s side and Kenenisa Bekele (2000) on the men&rsquo;s side.&nbsp;
<h2>Familiar names to challenge for places on the British team in Liverpool</h2>
The British Trials for the European Cross Country Championships will be held in their traditional setting on Sefton Park in Liverpool at the British Athletics Cross Challenge meeting on Saturday (26).
The event will be streamed live through the <a href="https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/%e2%97%89-watch-live-from-1130-the-british-athletics-cross-challenge-liverpool/">British Athletics YouTube channel</a> from 10.30am local time.&nbsp;
World indoor 3000m bronze medallist Marc Scott is the most credentialed athlete entered for the senior men&rsquo;s 9.8km while Jessica Warner-Judd - who led the Brits to the team title at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships in Dublin - takes on Jennifer Nesbitt and Jess Gibbon, the second and third scorers in the Irish capital last year, in the senior women&rsquo;s 8.1km.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/e706e94f-a05f-486c-96b2-3dd2c67c6db4?width=2290&amp;height=1527" alt="Getty Images 1358617217" />
Other significant names on the entry-list include three-time U20 champion Steph Twell and 2014 European cross country champion Gemma Steel - a winner of nine individual and team medals - who is returning to good form at the age of 37.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 20-year-old 800m specialist Max Burgin tests his strength after an injury-curtailed track season in the 1.5km short course event which serves as the selection race for the mixed relay at the European Cross Country Championships.
<h2>Reh headlines a strong women's field at the German Championships</h2>
European cross country bronze medallist Alina Reh is the star name in action at the German Cross Country Championships on Saturday (26) although she won&rsquo;t be unopposed in the senior women&rsquo;s 6.35km.
Despite the absence of Konstanze Klosterhalfen who isn&rsquo;t targeting the cross country season, the women&rsquo;s race is still brimming with talent from across the spectrum. Other standout names include European marathon fourth-placer Miriam Dattke who lines up alongside European 1500m fifth-placer Hanna Klein and 3000m steeplechaser Elena Burkard.&nbsp;
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/39946cab-0f4a-4f88-bcf9-27b5886d318a?width=3222&amp;height=2148" alt="Getty Images 1358628390" />
And the Germans could have a strong team in the senior men&rsquo;s race in La Mandria Park as well with Sam Parsons, Samuel Fitwi and Mohamed Mohamud among those due to compete.&nbsp;The German Cross Country Championships will be streamed live <a href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/termine/top-events/cross-dm-loeningen-2022-live" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> from 10.00am local time.
The Belgians also have medal-winning potential in the senior men's race at the European Cross Country Championships. At the CrossCup in Roeselare on Sunday (27) which serves as one of the main selection races, multiple European medallist Isaac Kimeli will test his shape having spent a recent stint at high altitude in Kenya.&nbsp;
Kimeli takes on a field which also includes Robin Hendrix, Pieter-Jan Hannes and Michael Somers, the first Belgian home in fifth at the 2021 European Cross Country Championships. 
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Mieke Gorissen, who only took up running as a serious pursuit in her late 30s, begins as the favourite for the women's title.
Live results for Roeselare can be found <a href="https://my.raceresult.com/219379/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Who, where and how to watch? European Cross selection races in focus this weekend

News

Information

2023-24 World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver & Bronze calendar (at 23 October)

2023-24 World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver & Bronze details (at 23 October)

World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze Meetings

Swedish distance runner Samuel Tsegay took a decisive victory at the famous TCS Liding&ouml;loppet on Saturday (24), the traditional curtain raiser for the World Athletics Cross Country Tour.&nbsp;
The Liding&ouml;loppet, which dates back to 1965 in terms of antiquity and is one of the longest standing events on the international cross country calendar, is one of five events with Silver level status in the build-up to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Italy on 11 December.
But what sets the Liding&ouml;loppet apart is the fact the main spectacle of the programme takes place over a distance of 30 kilometres, three times the distance the senior men will contest in Turin in December.
But this certainly played to the advantage of Tsegay who boasts a half marathon lifetime best of 59:21 and a marathon lifetime best of 2:06:53. The 34-year-old utilised his strength to good advantage, amassing a lead of 50 seconds through 10 kilometres before extending his winning margin to over one minute.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/d6127be6-9c5c-4723-9712-099280b7bf48?width=5472&amp;height=3648" alt="Foto: Peter Holgersson AB" />
The Eritrean-born Tsegay, who has been based in Sweden since 2018 and who made his debut for his adopted country in the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships marathon, covered the 30km course in 1:38:00 to defeat Denmark&rsquo;s Abdi-Hakin Ulan (1:39:02) and fellow Swede Mohammed Reza (1:39:05). Orienteer Emil Svensk was fourth in 1:39:07.
&ldquo;I am very happy about the victory, the course is very up and down but I am satisfied that I was able to take home the victory even though it was tough. My tactic was to go out hard and it turned out to work,&rdquo; said Tsegay, who is now targetting a top 10 place on the continental stage in 11 weeks time.
In the women&rsquo;s race, Denmark-based Kenyan Sylvia Medugu took her sixth successive victory in this race. Medugu pulled away in the latter stages for yet another victory in 1:54:27 ahead of 2019 European cross country bronze medallist Samrawit Mengsteab in 1:55:22.
<img src="https://european-athletics.directus.app/assets/b1cd7c1a-6d4b-4a12-8b8e-a536e675c42b?width=4022&amp;height=2680" alt="Foto: Peter Holgersson AB" />
In the 15km events, long-time Swedish international marathon runner David Nilsson won in 46:46 by over one minute from Axel Djurberg while Norway&rsquo;s former European U20 3000m steeplechase silver medallist Kristine Eikrem Engeset won the women&rsquo;s race in 55:12.&nbsp;
Much further back, legendary Swedish swimmer Sarah Sj&ouml;strom clocked 1:28:53 in the 15km event.
The next significant fixture on the European calendar in the build-up to the SPAR European Cross Country Championships is the Northern Ireland International Cross Country event on 22 October.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Full results <a title="" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7185928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.&nbsp;

Tsegay opens European cross country season with decisive 30km victory at the Lidingöloppet

The famous TCS Lidingoloppet races in the the Swedish town of Lidingo provided the curtain raiser to this winter's newly inaugerated World Athletics Cross Country Tour on Sunday (26).
After essentially being a domestic competition in 2020, with competitors also running remotely and online over a period of a month, this year international competitors returned to the Lidingo island in the inner Stockholm archipelago to the north-east of the capital.
Samuel Russom &ndash; an Eritrean refugee who arrived in Sweden in early 2018 and runs for the nearby Hasselby club in Stockholm, and who hopes to be cleared to run for his adopted country in time for next year&rsquo;s European Athletics Championships &ndash; won the challenging 30km race in 1:36:56 by more than a minute after pulling away from his nearest rivals with just over three kilometres to go.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Suver&auml;n Liding&ouml;loppsseger f&ouml;r H&auml;sselbys Samuel Russom <a href="https://t.co/Lg8hCXVfit">https://t.co/Lg8hCXVfit</a> <a href="https://t.co/n5gBxXFohB">pic.twitter.com/n5gBxXFohB</a>
&mdash; Jonas Hedman (@Friidrottaren) <a href="https://twitter.com/Friidrottaren/status/1441711226027839495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
Swedish international runner David Nilsson was the leading European in fifth place in 1:40:05.
Kenya&rsquo;s Sylvia Medugu, who runs for the Danish club Koge and won the Lidingoloppet in 2018 and 2019, got her third victory in the race when she crossed the line in 1:55:03, almost three minutes ahead of Sweden&rsquo;s 21-year-old Linnea Sennstrom who was second in 1:57:52.
Over 5300 runners finished the main 30km race while more than 3000 runners also finished the U20 and veterans 15km race.
In the 2021-22 winter, there will be seven more World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze meetings across Europe in five different countries. The next two meetings on the Europeand leg of the Tour are the 65th Cross Internacional de San Sebastian in Spain and the Cross Cup von Mol in Belgium,&nbsp; which will both take place on Sunday 7 November. The pair are Bronze level meetings.
The International Warandecross Tilburg, the Netherlands then take place on Sunday 28 November, two weeks before the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin-Fingal on Sunday 12 December, and is a Silver level meetings.
Four more World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze meetings will take place in Europe during January and February 2022. A full calendar is available <a title="" href="https://european-athletics.directus.app/downloads/07ddfa86-b45e-4bf5-84c3-4f9216539c76/2021-2022 World Athletics Cross Country Tour Silver and Bronze meetings in Europe.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Sweden's famous Lidingoloppet races gets the 2021-22 World Athletics Cross Country Tour in Europe underway

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