A look ahead to Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships where the British squad aims to continue its medal table-topping tradition

The Great Britain and Northern Ireland team will be looking to top the European Cross Country Championships medal table for the seventh year in succession when the annual event takes place in Bulgaria for the first time on Sunday.

The muddy venue for the 21st edition of the championships is the mountain resort of Borovets, near the town of Samokov.

After making the podium on the last two occasions she has competed, Gemma Steel will be among the favourites in the 7913m senior women’s race and could become the third British winner of this title after Paula Radcliffe and Hayley Yelling.

The Charnwood AC athlete knows victory in Bulgaria won t come easily, but the 29-year-old has experience on her side. I know who to look out for,” she told AW after winning the trial race at Sefton Park. I ve just got to get all the tactics right as I ve done all the training.”

Steel will again face Sophie Duarte, the Frenchwoman who claimed a five-second victory over the Briton last year in Belgrade. Sara Moreira, who finished third at last month s New York City Marathon on her debut at the distance, features on Portugal’s team.

Ireland s two-time Euro Cross gold medallist Fionnuala Britton has had a different build-up this year after her marathon debut. Fourth in 2013 when competing for a third consecutive Euro Cross victory, she was one spot ahead of Norway s former junior champion Karoline Grovdal, who also competes in Samokov.

European 5000m champion Meraf Bahta competes, while Belgium s Almensh Belete is also in action fresh from victory in Roeselare. Ethiopian-born Trihas Gebre, who gained eligibility to compete for Spain ahead of this competition, also features, as does team-mate Diana Martin, who won 3000m steeplechase bronze in Zurich.

Defending team gold alongside Steel is Kate Avery, who last month became the first British woman to win the NCAA Championships, as well as Lily Partridge, Sonia Samuel and Elle Vernon. Steph Twell is another to bring a great deal of experience to the team, having competed in nine of the last 10 editions of the event.

Having beaten Mo Farah to the senior men s title in 2009 before receiving a two-year drugs ban, Ethiopian-born Spaniard Alemayehu Bezabeh returned to the Euro Cross last year to claim a 21-second victory ahead of Turkey s Polat Kemboi Arikan.

Bezabeh defends his title over a 9987m route on Sunday and, having led Spain to team victory last year too, is joined by Antonio Abadia, Roberto Alaiz, Ivan Fernandez, Mohamed Marhum and Daniel Mateo as they look to repeat that feat.

Arikan also returns and he is joined by the likes of 20-year-old Ali Kaya, who last year won the junior title and this summer bagged European 10,000m bronze behind Farah and Andy Vernon.

Vernon was third behind Bezabeh and Arikan in Belgrade last year but after winning two European medals in Zurich has picked up an injury. Callum Hawkins and Andrew Butchart claimed a Scottish one-two at the trials in Liverpool. While Hawkins goes in the under-23 event, Butchart will be joined on the senior team by Luke Caldwell, Adam Hickey, Ross Millington and Tom Wade.

Making a comeback, Beijing Olympian Tom Lancashire finished fifth in Liverpool and this will be his senior cross country team debut after finishing 19th in the 2007 under-23 race.

Three-time Euro Cross gold medallist Andrea Lalli and fellow Italian Daniele Meucci are concentrating on the roads and it was Patrick Nasti who won Italy s trials. Irish inter-counties cross country championships winner Paul Pollock features for Ireland, while Florian Carvalho and Hassan Chahdi are among those on the French team.

Among the British athletes competing in the under-23 and under-20 events are Emelia Gorecka, Rhona Auckland, Jonathan Davies, Jonathan Hay, Jessica Judd and Peter Chambers.

See the December 11 edition of Athletics Weekly magazine, which is available digitally now or for next working day delivery, for a more in-depth Euro Cross preview which includes a look ahead to under-23 and under-20 race action, a course map, timetable and GB team list.

Fans in the UK can watch the action live on the BBC Red Button from 8:10-13:25 GMT on Sunday

The post Euro Cross: Seventh heaven for GB in Samokov? appeared first on Athletics Weekly.