:00:45. > :00:49.Welcome to the two Dufner 15 European Cross country Championships
:00:50. > :00:58.from Hyeres on the French Riviera. Plenty of talent from the cross
:00:59. > :01:03.country and track including European 1500 metre, Sifan Hassan and fellow
:01:04. > :01:07.1500 metres star, Laura Meara of Great Britain. Britain have a full
:01:08. > :01:12.team of 36 athletes. Including Kate Avery and the woman who just pipped
:01:13. > :01:16.her to the title, last year. Gemma Steel. We will -- she will hope to
:01:17. > :01:33.be crowned twice European champion. This is Paula Radcliffe in full
:01:34. > :01:44.flight. The champion of Europe. Another gold medal to finish the
:01:45. > :01:49.year. Wins the gold medal, wins the European Championships. Hayley
:01:50. > :01:56.Yelling comes back from retirement to win the European Cross Country
:01:57. > :02:01.Championships for the second time. The 2011 European Cross country
:02:02. > :02:11.champion will come from Ireland. Great victory. She defends her title
:02:12. > :02:16.in fine style. Kate Avery and Gemma Steel alongside her. It will be
:02:17. > :02:20.Gemma Steel who wins the gold. Paula joins me today as we bring you
:02:21. > :02:28.highlights of the six races taking place at the Racecourse. Men's and
:02:29. > :02:32.women's race s over various distances. And with team competition
:02:33. > :02:37.is also up for grabs Great Britain will be looking to take plenty of
:02:38. > :02:51.medals home. We begin with the senior women's race. 22 nations
:02:52. > :02:54.represented. It's a big field. Joining her other five team-mates at
:02:55. > :03:04.the back. Alongside Samuels, Stephanie Twell, they will be hoping
:03:05. > :03:08.very much... They will all want to do well individually and will be
:03:09. > :03:12.expected to do well individually but there is plenty of strength in depth
:03:13. > :03:19.in the British squad. The senior women head of on their European
:03:20. > :03:23.cross-country quest over eight kilometres. Very good conditions to
:03:24. > :03:31.be racing cross-country in December. It's quite warm, 12 or 13 degrees.
:03:32. > :03:35.The hippodrome here, the Racecourse, providing fast racing conditions.
:03:36. > :03:40.One or two obstacles in their way. Artificial hills have been placed
:03:41. > :03:47.along the route. These women will have a start loop of one kilometre
:03:48. > :03:50.and then go down to the finish. Great Britain hoping Gemma Steel can
:03:51. > :03:56.defend the title she won by a couple of strides from Kate Avery of Great
:03:57. > :04:00.Britain who was also in the race. Plenty in there for Great Britain to
:04:01. > :04:07.be cheering about individually and also in the team race. They very
:04:08. > :04:12.much start as the favourites. This European cross-country is a title
:04:13. > :04:15.which still has a lot of resonance in the world of insurance?
:04:16. > :04:21.Definitely. The strength of the race is shown by the fact we have four
:04:22. > :04:32.previous champions in there. Gemma Steel, Sophie Duarte,... A trivia
:04:33. > :04:36.question, winning 20 years ago. She is now a mother of three and returns
:04:37. > :04:40.hoping to qualify for the marathon in Rio. I can't remember exactly but
:04:41. > :04:51.was it snowing in 1994? We mentioned the team race. The
:04:52. > :04:55.first Championships where Russia are not taking part having done very
:04:56. > :05:04.well in the Championships and indeed in this particular race. All of the
:05:05. > :05:12.athletes have been asked to run with I Run Clean, I have not seen any
:05:13. > :05:16.athletes who have chosen not to do that. It is still a massive talking
:05:17. > :05:23.point. The Russian situation is having an impact. It's a great
:05:24. > :05:28.initiative. I do think that all athletes and former athletes who
:05:29. > :05:30.really care about the sports need to work hard to re-establish
:05:31. > :05:36.credibility and take the steps that we need to do get our sport back to
:05:37. > :05:44.where it should be. It is sad for the athletes, through this action
:05:45. > :05:48.they have to suffer, because undoubtedly there are clean athletes
:05:49. > :05:54.in Russia suffering because they can't take part in Championships,
:05:55. > :05:59.but the scale of the accusation necessitated this kind of action.
:06:00. > :06:03.And it might not be over yet. We might yet see things happening to
:06:04. > :06:11.other countries as we see things develop and come out like this whole
:06:12. > :06:20.investigation. Sever Hassan leads them through. The Spanish athlete is
:06:21. > :06:24.pushing on. A hard place from the start, they are well stretched but
:06:25. > :06:33.Great Britain and Lauren Howarth and Stephanie Twell, they have four are
:06:34. > :06:38.fleets in there. -- athletes. There is a big gap already to the rest of
:06:39. > :06:42.the field. That is a good thing but you wonder whether somebody further
:06:43. > :06:47.back might eventually come through. At the moment these two are setting
:06:48. > :06:53.a hot pace. The course today is certainly fast but these, we can't
:06:54. > :06:57.call them hills but bumps in the course, later we will see a couple
:06:58. > :07:02.of blogs that they have to clear, it is just to break up the rhythm but
:07:03. > :07:05.as you move through the race and you run on tired legs you will see
:07:06. > :07:10.ground being made up by those athletes who have decided to run the
:07:11. > :07:13.race a little bit more steady. It is the type of course where you want to
:07:14. > :07:17.get yourself into a reasonably good position early on and went gaps open
:07:18. > :07:25.up like they are today you want to be in the lead packs. Now you can
:07:26. > :07:32.see her paying the price for trying to go with Hassan. Getting reeled in
:07:33. > :07:38.by Kate Avery. Leading the chasing group behind. I think we will see
:07:39. > :07:43.her fading a little bit. At the end of the second of the short groups
:07:44. > :07:48.Sifan Hassan is leading by 50 metres already. The British athletes are
:07:49. > :07:53.packing well in the group behind. Kate Avery, Gemma Steel, Stephanie
:07:54. > :07:54.Twell is looking pretty comfortable. She has been brought back into the
:07:55. > :08:09.group. The silver medallist on the track at
:08:10. > :08:15.10,000 metres in there. Great Britain are very firmly locked in
:08:16. > :08:19.the gold medal position as far as the team competition is concerned.
:08:20. > :08:22.Gemma Steel won the trial again and would have come here perhaps as a
:08:23. > :08:27.favourite among the British athletes to win a medal if not the race.
:08:28. > :08:29.Hassan seems to have come here with the intent that says I'm not even
:08:30. > :08:34.going to give you a chance of thinking you can win. Dominant from
:08:35. > :08:38.the start. The lead is not getting any bigger so that will be
:08:39. > :08:42.interesting. They have the rest of this lap and then two kilometres at
:08:43. > :08:46.the end. These are strong athletes and they know how to gauge their
:08:47. > :08:53.effort well. They will not slow down. If Hassan starts to tire you
:08:54. > :08:56.never know. She could lose concentration because certainly the
:08:57. > :09:00.gap is not getting any bigger and maybe she is just backing off a
:09:01. > :09:07.little bit before she picks it up again before the final lap will stop
:09:08. > :09:10.we will see as the race pushes on. Stefanie and Kate are working
:09:11. > :09:17.together. Is she trying to blow her nose? She is trying to take a gel
:09:18. > :09:19.but I'm not sure that is necessary in an eight kilometre race but she
:09:20. > :09:26.is obviously struggling a little bit. You could see that she was not
:09:27. > :09:35.quite taking them as well as the other girls around her. She lost a
:09:36. > :09:39.bit of ground. Lauren Howarth, there she is, the French athletes have
:09:40. > :09:43.gone past. Great Britain have three of them. As long as Gemma Steel
:09:44. > :09:48.keeps going, but she is struggling today, we are still pretty solid in
:09:49. > :09:52.the gold medal position as far as the team competition is concerned.
:09:53. > :09:57.France do have four now but the fact we have three in the top six or
:09:58. > :10:04.seven stands Britain in good stead. Lauren Howarth needs to concentrate
:10:05. > :10:11.and Gelling. -- and keep going. Behind her Samuels. Gemma Steel is
:10:12. > :10:14.definitely struggling. Hassan, her lead is shortening all the time and
:10:15. > :10:20.when she comes down and around and makes this turn this time, next time
:10:21. > :10:24.she will be coming out of the woods and she anxiously looks behind as
:10:25. > :10:28.she enters the last lap. She sees the lead start to diminish. It is
:10:29. > :10:35.down to five or six seconds. Indeed it is five seconds. Stephanie Twell
:10:36. > :10:43.and Kate Avery chasing her down. The group behind are stringing out and
:10:44. > :10:46.they are sensing that Hassan has misjudged it. She did start very
:10:47. > :10:53.aggressively and we have seen the price paid for that. How far she has
:10:54. > :11:00.drifted back. Maybe they can close a bit of ground working together.
:11:01. > :11:04.MacCormack of Ireland, a former two-time champion. She won
:11:05. > :11:16.back-to-back. This is not about performance from the nil, -- from
:11:17. > :11:21.MacCormack. Two kilometres to go and now she knows she is in a real race
:11:22. > :11:23.and she has to concentrate and rediscover her rhythm from earlier
:11:24. > :11:28.because Stephanie Twell is charging and what a good site, Stephanie
:11:29. > :11:33.Twell followed by Kate Avery and then the former prodigious talent
:11:34. > :11:38.from Norway, the junior talent. Also going well. Stephanie Twell has the
:11:39. > :11:41.bit between their teeth here. You can see that she keeps looking up
:11:42. > :11:45.and she knows that this isn't over yet. Two kilometres is enough
:11:46. > :11:52.distance to close five seconds, maybe even four seconds. It is. You
:11:53. > :12:03.can see the differing concentrations on these athletes. MacCormack
:12:04. > :12:09.focused and working through. Can they work together to try to close
:12:10. > :12:13.the gap a little bit on Sifan Hassan? You would assume that Hassan
:12:14. > :12:17.knows that the charge is an and has maybe settled into the middle part
:12:18. > :12:21.of the race. So much pace and speed in the latter stages. Even if they
:12:22. > :12:25.caught her you would still think she would have too much in the end, but
:12:26. > :12:30.perhaps the lead is not shortening as much as it was, as she disappears
:12:31. > :12:35.over the top, it is still five or six seconds so maybe Hassan has
:12:36. > :12:39.picked it up as the British athletes if anything struggle over the hill.
:12:40. > :12:43.Hassan has rallied, realised the danger and knows that there is not
:12:44. > :12:47.far to go and wants to make sure she doesn't make any mistakes and
:12:48. > :12:52.doesn't get into any sense of pressure if you like over the last
:12:53. > :12:55.800 metres. She is well clear now but the battle for second and third
:12:56. > :13:00.is still not over between the British athletes. Karoline Grovdal
:13:01. > :13:06.is still within striking distance and I don't think she will have
:13:07. > :13:12.enough left to take these athletes on. We will see when they go over
:13:13. > :13:15.the steeper bumps. I don't think the logs will really make much
:13:16. > :13:19.difference to the race. The best steep climb and then you can see
:13:20. > :13:24.just how much the legs are tired and how much the girls are struggling.
:13:25. > :13:27.Kate Avery doesn't want to stay working with Stephanie Twell, she
:13:28. > :13:34.wants to make sure that she can move away and not allow Karoline Grovdal
:13:35. > :13:39.any chance to close down. She will hang on and keep working hard. It
:13:40. > :13:44.will be a popular medal if Stephanie Twell can hold on. Kate Avery took
:13:45. > :13:49.the silver medal last year behind Gemma Steel. She may be getting a
:13:50. > :13:54.silver this time again behind Sifan Hassan but can Stephanie Twell hold
:13:55. > :14:00.on to third place? She will come under pressure from Karoline
:14:01. > :14:05.Grovdal. One of the athletes was almost lapped. Not far to go now but
:14:06. > :14:10.you can see that Stephanie Twell is in a real battle for third. She
:14:11. > :14:14.knows the course as we have said and she knows that she has a steep hill
:14:15. > :14:20.coming up and can she just dig deep? Up and down the other side. To keep
:14:21. > :14:23.as much of the gap as she can from Karoline Grovdal. Hopefully they get
:14:24. > :14:27.into the closing straight and maybe Stephanie Williams enough speed to
:14:28. > :14:35.hold off Karoline Grovdal, but it would be a good race. Kate Avery is
:14:36. > :14:38.now clear in second. It looks as though MacCormack is also closing a
:14:39. > :14:45.little bit but maybe that was just the angle of the shot. Back in 2013
:14:46. > :14:51.Sifan Hassan had just had clearance to compete for the Netherlands. And
:14:52. > :14:54.a few days after that she took this European Cross country title as an
:14:55. > :14:58.under 23 and she looks as though she is heading for the gold medal in the
:14:59. > :15:02.senior event this year. Kate Avery is still hanging on for silver but
:15:03. > :15:09.under pressure from Karoline Grovdal. MacCormack chasing her
:15:10. > :15:13.down. Stephanie Roorda keep working hard and never give up. Gemma Steel,
:15:14. > :15:19.not been a great day for Gemma Steel. -- Stefanie will keep working
:15:20. > :15:34.hard. Last term. Sifan Hassan, one glance
:15:35. > :15:39.behind. Kate Avery takes the last turn. Work to do to hang onto
:15:40. > :15:42.silver. Checks behind, Grovdal. No danger behind her. No doubt either
:15:43. > :15:46.about our winner. She took this race by the scruff of
:15:47. > :15:55.the neck. Settled in and gave the others hope
:15:56. > :16:00.as she seemed to close the gap. Strong in the last couple of
:16:01. > :16:05.commenters. European Cross country champion is the fan Hassan of the
:16:06. > :16:10.Netherlands. Another title, gold medal, for her. A good performance
:16:11. > :16:16.from Kate Avery, taking the silver medal for Great Britain and Northern
:16:17. > :16:25.Ireland. Grovdal punches the air, bronze for Norway. The Nuala
:16:26. > :16:32.MacCormack takes fourth place. Bobocel Out sprints Steph Twell.
:16:33. > :16:36.Calvin coming across the line in seventh place. Gemma Steel, I am
:16:37. > :16:37.sure, will be pretty disappointed with eighth place, given the sort of
:16:38. > :16:46.form she has been in. Maureen Koster crossing the line.
:16:47. > :16:52.Lauren Howarth in the big sprint for the line. Lauren in a sprint, in the
:16:53. > :16:54.top 15. That will cement Great Britain's gold medal in the team
:16:55. > :17:03.race in the senior women's event. Sifan Hassan with a fairly
:17:04. > :17:06.comfortable win in the end after Kate Avery did everything she could
:17:07. > :17:13.to try to close that gap. Great silver medal in a row for the second
:17:14. > :17:19.year in a rope, Kate Avery. -- second year in a row. A performance
:17:20. > :17:23.that ensures they win the team race ahead of France.
:17:24. > :17:32.Kate sadly lost her father recently. I am sure there will be a bit of
:17:33. > :17:37.emotion as well. She never, ever does anything other than give 100%.
:17:38. > :17:42.I wasn't quite sure if I was going to be here with things that went on
:17:43. > :17:49.at home. I am just pleased I could come herewith everything against me,
:17:50. > :17:53.the emotional and mental side of things, that I can still perform
:17:54. > :17:57.like that. I am pleased with silver. We just heard your dad passed away
:17:58. > :18:03.but you still wanted to come and run? Yeah. He would have been so
:18:04. > :18:08.proud of me being able to come out here today and do this. He was my
:18:09. > :18:10.biggest supporter and I am sure he still is, so, yeah that one was for
:18:11. > :18:28.him. Ross Millington won the trial.
:18:29. > :18:32.Griffiths in there. Tom Lancashire. A lot of experience. Taylor. At the
:18:33. > :18:50.back. Adam Hickey. . A strong team. It is whether or not
:18:51. > :18:53.they have for athletes that can perform well enough behind the top
:18:54. > :19:03.two. The senior men get underway. Quite a
:19:04. > :19:09.big field here. Well represented. A lot of the top teams with Spain and
:19:10. > :19:13.Great Britain and France. The home nation will be hoping they can do
:19:14. > :19:22.well. The two favours from Turkey, the former Kenyans, Arikan and Kaya
:19:23. > :19:25.expected to dominate here again. There are some questions around the
:19:26. > :19:31.team race and whether anybody else can get in there and upset the two
:19:32. > :19:36.Turkish athletes. On the face of it, they should be a bit too good for
:19:37. > :19:43.everybody else. Lots of running ahead, ten Blommetjies. Flat and
:19:44. > :19:48.fast course -- ten kilometres. After the start leap of one column at. Two
:19:49. > :19:54.short laps and one long lap before the finishing straight. Defending
:19:55. > :19:59.champion, Arikan already at the front. Interesting to see whether
:20:00. > :20:08.this year Kaya is better than Arikan. A good track season. Arikan
:20:09. > :20:14.We'll hope to hold off his team-mate in both senses of the world. Former
:20:15. > :20:19.Kenyans running. Another thing the IAAF have got to look at. Some other
:20:20. > :20:24.issues but we talk about the credibility for the sport. We do it
:20:25. > :20:30.in Britain, we have given people British passports, but there has to
:20:31. > :20:37.be a timely and good reason. You have got to be able to follow all of
:20:38. > :20:42.the various processes. With due process. In the past there hasn't
:20:43. > :20:50.been enough of that. There has to be some kind of regulation of that. It
:20:51. > :20:55.cannot be just buying top athletes for a top team position, events like
:20:56. > :20:58.this. It does then destroy the nature of what should be the
:20:59. > :21:03.European Cross country Championships and it changes the way the race is
:21:04. > :21:08.run. As we are watching now. There needs to be some regulation to make
:21:09. > :21:12.sure that for cases like Sifan Hassan, and Mo Farah, lived and
:21:13. > :21:17.grown up in the country and with genuine ties to their country... But
:21:18. > :21:19.not when you spend time training in your native country and then turn up
:21:20. > :21:29.to race... Getting very strong out in these
:21:30. > :21:36.early stages. Ali Kaya keeps pushing the pace. A little look to the side
:21:37. > :21:39.but very comfortable so far. The further back you go the bigger the
:21:40. > :21:40.gaps are and the more ground that needs to be made up in the team
:21:41. > :21:58.race. Already starting to fade a little
:21:59. > :22:06.bit, Lamdassem. Can't Valley are moving up on his team-mate. --
:22:07. > :22:12.Carvalho. Ali Kaya won the junior title a couple of years ago. His
:22:13. > :22:17.record as a junior, completely dominant. Last year only Arikan able
:22:18. > :22:23.to beat him. Look how comfortable and relaxed he looks. Less than
:22:24. > :22:32.eight minutes running. He is extending that lead. Arikan, he is
:22:33. > :22:40.not in as good as shape, rocking and rolling. May come under pressure
:22:41. > :22:44.later if he starts to fade. Florian Carvalho looking strong moving
:22:45. > :22:50.through. Great Britain out of the top three at the moment in fourth
:22:51. > :22:56.place. I suspect that position will improve for Great Britain. Jonathan
:22:57. > :23:00.Taylor and Tom Lancashire. Griffiths. I can't seem Ross
:23:01. > :23:06.Millington yet. A bit further back. -- I can't see. They are up there.
:23:07. > :23:11.As you mentioned earlier on, early stages and when you move five yards
:23:12. > :23:15.from the pack and you pass such people, we will wait to see how bad
:23:16. > :23:21.moves on. France and Spain certainly dominant at the moment -- how that
:23:22. > :23:32.moves. Ali Kaya is the leader. As he heads out. Effectively therefore
:23:33. > :23:35.flat. Ali Kaya takes a little glance to see the Spanish athlete moving
:23:36. > :23:42.alongside him. One wonders whether or not he moved a bit too soon, too
:23:43. > :23:47.early. A big gap to Arikan, the defending champion, working hard. At
:23:48. > :23:55.the moment he is very clear in third place. The chasing group. The
:23:56. > :24:01.Spanish athletes. Gathering behind. Spain looking very strong.
:24:02. > :24:09.Here are the team standings. Italy are improving. Italy have jumped
:24:10. > :24:15.ahead with Turkey getting a bit closer to Great Britain. Can't
:24:16. > :24:22.afford to drop off too much. Jonathan Taylor having a cracking
:24:23. > :24:25.race. Adam Hickey moving through the field mice Liege Dewi Griffiths. Tom
:24:26. > :24:28.Lancashire gritting his teeth. -- and Dewey Griffiths.
:24:29. > :24:39.They need to keep working hard. 12 minutes running ahead them. 13, 14
:24:40. > :24:46.minutes, perhaps. The team race is one which Spain is dominating.
:24:47. > :24:49.France clear in second place. At the moment, Great Britain have the
:24:50. > :24:56.bronze medal in their grasp but they need to work hard to hang on to it.
:24:57. > :25:05.These two well clear, look at the gap. Arikan really struggling.
:25:06. > :25:10.Ayad Lamdassem has caught Arikan. The defending champion. Even a medal
:25:11. > :25:16.might be a bit of a stretch this year. Ayad Lamdassem forges on, does
:25:17. > :25:19.what any athlete would do and what your coach would tell you to do who
:25:20. > :25:24.has caught someone who has been struggling. Don't wait, go past
:25:25. > :25:32.them, keep the pressure on and work hard. Only three athletes would be
:25:33. > :25:36.watching that. They will want to see Ayad Lamdassem move past. Is he
:25:37. > :25:42.going to respond or let him move by him? Do they also have a chance to
:25:43. > :25:47.move up why him? For the first time in quite a while, Kaya pushing on.
:25:48. > :25:51.This looks as though it could be significant. He has moved a bit
:25:52. > :25:57.wider onto the better ground, picked up the pace. Bezabeh Look to the
:25:58. > :26:02.side from Kaya, looks like Bezabeh is struggling to match him. Doesn't
:26:03. > :26:08.look significantly under pressure but he is not able to respond and
:26:09. > :26:13.able to go back. Kaya Is still looking behind. Giving Bezabeh hope.
:26:14. > :26:18.Better to sneak a glance as he takes one of the sharper turns if you want
:26:19. > :26:23.information on the gap he is building up but it is significant.
:26:24. > :26:28.Kaya heads away. Looks like a silver medal for Bezabeh, Spain could be
:26:29. > :26:37.getting another medal in the team race. Griffiths in 16th place. Ross
:26:38. > :26:44.Millington 19. Jonathan Taylor going back. 22nd. Tom Lancashire in 26. As
:26:45. > :26:47.people seem to be settling into their positions, still good news for
:26:48. > :26:51.Great Britain in the team competition. The gap is closing
:26:52. > :26:56.between them and Italy, just 11 points. All to play for on this last
:26:57. > :27:00.lap. A lot to play for and keep your eye on, those positions can change
:27:01. > :27:03.quickly when you see how closely they are packed and how many Italian
:27:04. > :27:09.athletes are running in a pack very close together around the British
:27:10. > :27:13.guys. Identity know if anyone has given them the message, Paula, but
:27:14. > :27:18.time in Italian gets anywhere near British athlete, they should fight.
:27:19. > :27:22.-- any time in Italian. When there is a medal at stake, you can find a
:27:23. > :27:25.bit extra. It could come down to one point. 11 point advantage for
:27:26. > :27:30.Britain at the start of the last lap, three or four athletes, that is
:27:31. > :27:34.a couple of places for each athlete. Those points could disappear quickly
:27:35. > :27:39.and when you lose them, they go to the other team. They come off, it
:27:40. > :27:50.goes the other way. Exactly. A Spanish athlete shouting information
:27:51. > :27:53.to the Spanish guys, we hope the British team are out there, doing
:27:54. > :27:55.that and being able to pass as much information on as possible. My
:27:56. > :27:58.husband Gary, team manager for the junior team. Hopefully he is out
:27:59. > :28:02.there, shouting and they will be able to hear it. Looking serene,
:28:03. > :28:08.Kaya looking comfortable. A man who has got better over the last couple
:28:09. > :28:13.of years. The junior title he won in 2013. He is already celebrating and
:28:14. > :28:17.maybe rightly so. No doubt about the winner. He went off really hard,
:28:18. > :28:22.trying to break up the field. He did so. Looked as though he was going to
:28:23. > :28:25.run away from everybody. In the end, Bezabeh held him back, looks like
:28:26. > :28:30.you was relaxing in the middle of the race. Over this last kilometre
:28:31. > :28:35.and a half, Kaya has stretched out again. The middle part, he was
:28:36. > :28:39.taking it easy. He is flying. He has a big lead. Very big and he knows
:28:40. > :28:43.that. He is taking the time to celebrate. Taking the glances back,
:28:44. > :28:47.but not out of concern, there is no chance that Bezabeh will make any
:28:48. > :28:57.ground up on him and he won't really be caught for the silver medal. Here
:28:58. > :29:01.comes Kaya, through the Beach section, I'm not sure that has made
:29:02. > :29:04.any difference to anybody whatsoever. One last look behind and
:29:05. > :29:12.then enters the home straight to enjoy this last 200-300 metres.
:29:13. > :29:16.Firms up, celebrating with the crowd, Turkey getting the gold medal
:29:17. > :29:22.they expected from the senior men's race. It was Arikan last year who
:29:23. > :29:26.beat Kaya the title but he has been improving all the time, particularly
:29:27. > :29:31.through the summer on the track and he has come here and shown his
:29:32. > :29:34.improvement at the cross-country. Kaya on Turkey takes the gold medal
:29:35. > :29:41.and is the European cross-country champion. A real battle going on for
:29:42. > :29:46.the bronze medal, Spain will finish second, third and fourth. Bezabeh
:29:47. > :29:58.will take the silver medal and it looks as though Fifa will lose out,
:29:59. > :30:04.he is back as the fourth counter. It will of course mean that Spain, with
:30:05. > :30:08.all four of their counters inside the top six, that was a really
:30:09. > :30:18.dominant performance from the Spanish team, to take the team
:30:19. > :30:22.title. Ali Kaya winning the gold medal for Turkey, comfortably in the
:30:23. > :30:30.end, 11 seconds ahead of the former champion, Bezabeh. This is the
:30:31. > :30:33.senior men's team result. Spain where the comfortable winners
:30:34. > :30:37.really. France also comfortably in second. A great performance from
:30:38. > :30:46.Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take bronze ahead of Italy. 2016
:30:47. > :30:50.is an exciting year for athletics. With the Olympics in Rio. And this
:30:51. > :31:42.is what else you can look forward to on the BBC.
:31:43. > :31:50.A great year ahead in prospect, but for today there is lots more to come
:31:51. > :32:05.starting with the women's under 23 race and Laura and -- Laura Muir.
:32:06. > :32:09.Leading a very strong British team. She arrived late and has to head
:32:10. > :32:14.back again as usual. She has veterinary studies coming to the
:32:15. > :32:20.fall but she had a great winter and performed brilliantly at the trials.
:32:21. > :32:24.-- coming to the fore. Jenny was overlooked for selection on the
:32:25. > :32:33.track last year and I know she is delighted to be wearing her British
:32:34. > :32:37.vest. Factory at the back. -- Thackery. Watch out for the former
:32:38. > :32:48.junior champion from Turkey. She could well figure among one or two
:32:49. > :32:52.others. The women's under 23 race gets a way, with the usual sprint.
:32:53. > :32:57.Eight kilometres, a proper good test for these women but not the biggest
:32:58. > :33:02.field it has to be said. Certainly it gives a huge opportunity, only
:33:03. > :33:07.four or five Nations actually with full teams here. Some good
:33:08. > :33:13.individuals. Laura Muir Great Britain already coming to the fore
:33:14. > :33:16.and we will expect Laura to try to, if not dictate, I have the feeling
:33:17. > :33:21.others will let her dictate because she is the star from the summer. She
:33:22. > :33:31.has good cross-country pedigree as well. Immediately moves to the
:33:32. > :33:40.front. Terzic Is a familiar figure. They know each other over the metres
:33:41. > :33:44.as well. -- over 5000 metres. The British team, don't be surprised if
:33:45. > :33:48.they get the gold medal here because they have plenty of ability and in
:33:49. > :33:52.terms of overall strength I'm not sure, perhaps the French might give
:33:53. > :33:57.them something to think about. Britain will be expecting and hoping
:33:58. > :34:06.to win a gold medal. Certainly. When we look at the size of the field and
:34:07. > :34:10.the size of the men's under 23 race, do they really have a place here? I
:34:11. > :34:14.believe that they dilute the strength of the women's race and the
:34:15. > :34:17.quality of the athletes racing in the race road race in equally well
:34:18. > :34:23.in the senior race and make for a stronger race. -- in the race, could
:34:24. > :34:30.equally well race in the senior competition. Finished fifth, I think
:34:31. > :34:39.that was a surprise for many to see Laura up there, but Laura she has
:34:40. > :34:42.great enjoyments. -- great endurance. Does a lot of mileage at
:34:43. > :34:57.high tempo and this course will suit her down to the ground, it is not
:34:58. > :35:01.muddy and Healy. -- hilly. She is very used to getting up and running
:35:02. > :35:05.well over the cross-country. As you said in the beginning she did arrive
:35:06. > :35:08.late last night because of the University and work commitments and
:35:09. > :35:13.she will leave straight after the race to get back. That amount of
:35:14. > :35:17.travel may have taken something out of her. She is experienced and she
:35:18. > :35:28.has come here with a view of giving in a strong performance. I think she
:35:29. > :35:31.will do that. A good 5000 metre strength as Great Britain continue
:35:32. > :35:36.to lead in the team race. 43 points which is a big lead over France and
:35:37. > :35:40.Italy. No other contenders in terms of the team race. Great Britain need
:35:41. > :35:46.a solid last lap and the gold medal will be theirs in terms of the team,
:35:47. > :35:53.but what about the individual? Can Laura Muir win this? She has to stay
:35:54. > :36:08.strong. Terzic rallies a little. Muir looks for a little bit of good
:36:09. > :36:11.ground on the inside. The tall figure from Holland, just finding a
:36:12. > :36:17.couple of metres gap now. Continuing to wind it up. As a 5000 metre
:36:18. > :36:21.runner that is what you need to do, you cannot leave it to the
:36:22. > :36:29.specialists, have that pace. She got a new PB last year which is not bad
:36:30. > :36:33.at her age. Certainly improving and winning a medal at the under 23
:36:34. > :36:38.championships. She must be aware of the pace behind her. She must hugely
:36:39. > :36:42.be aware of that and that is why she is giving it a really strong shot
:36:43. > :36:48.now, winding it up, really when she works of the bumps, I have just been
:36:49. > :36:55.corrected by Tim, it is not a Hill but a bump. They will be tested in
:36:56. > :36:58.the last lap and you can see the gaps opening. Watch as they come
:36:59. > :37:07.down the hill, that is when the likes of Muir and Terzic, they are
:37:08. > :37:13.getting fast leg speed to close a little bit. Putting daylight between
:37:14. > :37:18.them and Laura has to stay in contention if she wants a medal, she
:37:19. > :37:24.is in fourth place. Terzic looks in a little pain as ever. The strength
:37:25. > :37:28.is showing in the latter stages. Laura Muir came here late and was
:37:29. > :37:32.hoping she could perhaps content to win this and she certainly has been
:37:33. > :37:39.contending but now she is battling to try to hold onto a medal
:37:40. > :37:43.position. Continuing to put the pressure on and go away from the
:37:44. > :37:47.other three. Great running from the Belgian athlete. There are many
:37:48. > :37:51.twists and turns, anxiously looking behind but she must think, I feel
:37:52. > :37:56.good and I'm pushing on and if anything she continues to go away.
:37:57. > :38:00.When you look back on that corner and you see that you have a gap that
:38:01. > :38:05.size over the likes of Terzic and Laura Muir that has to give you
:38:06. > :38:09.confidence going into the hill where she can maybe generate a bit more
:38:10. > :38:14.just to hold on in that straight. She is looking very strong here.
:38:15. > :38:17.Very impressed with how well, over the bumps and unstable ground she
:38:18. > :38:23.really is staying very stable and strong. Laura Muir went through a
:38:24. > :38:26.bad patch and then rallied, she is hanging on and thinking, I just had
:38:27. > :38:32.to hang on because surely I can out kick them in the home straight. It
:38:33. > :38:35.will be hard work and now it is a five metre gap and she needs to keep
:38:36. > :38:41.it close if she is to have any chance. She worked hard over those
:38:42. > :38:48.rises to hang on as Terzic looks behind again, she has perhaps given
:38:49. > :38:54.up on second place. Can Laura Muir keep in contact? Terzic is well
:38:55. > :38:59.known to her on the track. Even in a track race I would back Laura to
:39:00. > :39:03.close down Terzic without any problem, but cross-country is
:39:04. > :39:06.different. It is. Laura did not have a chance to walk the course first
:39:07. > :39:13.thing this morning so the others have had more time to study. Murray
:39:14. > :39:20.now in the second counter. Nesbitt will be the fourth counter. Great
:39:21. > :39:26.Britain in a solid position, but individually this might not be over.
:39:27. > :39:30.Camton was the one who really took it on with three kilometres to go,
:39:31. > :39:34.built up a lead and now the sprint is on to the finish, it's a long run
:39:35. > :39:40.to the finish, the Belgian athlete had a long look behind. She can see
:39:41. > :39:45.Terzic closing quickly. I'm not sure she will get among the medals here.
:39:46. > :39:51.Carton Belgian, one last look behind, this isn't big win for
:39:52. > :40:01.Hippel 's -- this is a big win for her. Terzic takes the bronze. A very
:40:02. > :40:07.tired Laura Muir gave everything and has to settle for forth. It was a
:40:08. > :40:12.good performance from Laura but three very good individuals ahead of
:40:13. > :40:19.her. Not her day. From 18 prospective Great Britain will have
:40:20. > :40:22.done well. Merry will try to make sure she holds on to the position
:40:23. > :40:28.she has got. She will be just outside the top ten I think. Jenny
:40:29. > :40:33.Nesbitt, a really good performance, she will be the third counter,
:40:34. > :40:38.perhaps in the top 15. Behind her, Rebecca Murray in 15th. That will
:40:39. > :40:49.consolidate Britain's performance in terms of winning the team gold.
:40:50. > :40:59.Really good packing from them. All six British women performed well
:41:00. > :41:04.today. Louise Carton from Belgian takes the gold medal. She has been
:41:05. > :41:10.given the same time but she was definitely ahead. Really strong
:41:11. > :41:16.performance from the British team. Murray was excellent in 10th.
:41:17. > :41:19.Rebecca Murray will be delighted with her performance. Cementing
:41:20. > :41:29.Britain's position as the team gold medallists. Confirmation of Great
:41:30. > :41:33.Britain winning the gold medal... France and Italy were the only other
:41:34. > :41:34.teams in contention but it was a comfortable win for a strong British
:41:35. > :41:51.team. The next race is the men's under 23.
:41:52. > :41:59.The British team very strong indeed. Scott and Davies at the front. Allen
:42:00. > :42:08.at the back. He had his injury problems over the last couple of
:42:09. > :42:13.years. The under 23 men sprinting away. Trying to settle down and find
:42:14. > :42:21.a decent position early on. Plenty of time, eight kilometres ahead of
:42:22. > :42:24.them. Nonetheless, plenty of people feel the need to sprint before they
:42:25. > :42:30.settle down. They will do that pretty quickly and as with all of
:42:31. > :42:35.the races, they will complete a first start loop around one
:42:36. > :42:39.kilometre, and by then I'm pretty sure they will have settled in as
:42:40. > :42:49.usual. A slightly bigger field than the women's under 23. Still, though,
:42:50. > :42:52.from our point of view, this under 23 age group is one for the European
:42:53. > :43:02.Championships which is perhaps unnecessary. These men will be in
:43:03. > :43:14.danger of being confused, they will have to make up the distance. Rachik
:43:15. > :43:20.A medallist over 10,000 metres in this age group in the summer. In the
:43:21. > :43:23.red and yellow of Spain, dropping back into fifth or sixth place.
:43:24. > :43:27.Goodman moves to the front and it's great to see him there after his
:43:28. > :43:32.problems of the last couple of years. A very good athlete. You can
:43:33. > :43:37.go back a good few years to his junior career, picking up a medal.
:43:38. > :43:41.You want to see people move on, winning a silver medal individually.
:43:42. > :43:44.He has the talent and ability to get himself back into really good shape
:43:45. > :43:51.and is obviously full of confidence here as they head down the starting
:43:52. > :43:54.straight. They just need to keep concentrating with these short lapse
:43:55. > :44:00.because it's very easy to lose track of where you are in the race. As
:44:01. > :44:03.Paula was saying, the last lap is the long lap, and Great Britain and
:44:04. > :44:07.France seemed to be the two teams in contention for the gold-medal, three
:44:08. > :44:13.points separated them at the end of the previous lap. You can see big
:44:14. > :44:21.changes in the team race because look how close they are packing. You
:44:22. > :44:25.could often throw a blanket over the top group, lots of Spanish in there
:44:26. > :44:31.as well, French and British. It's great to see the British guys at the
:44:32. > :44:34.front, exchanging the lead and the attempts to control the race. I
:44:35. > :44:39.don't think anyone has made a concerted effort to move away yet,
:44:40. > :44:50.just keeping the pace going. A little look from Mayo. He looks
:44:51. > :44:55.fairly relaxed. Deeney has continued to look really good. The Italian in
:44:56. > :45:05.that group. And a couple of polish athletes. They are starting to
:45:06. > :45:10.bunch. 15 or so athletes as they head into the last lap. We will
:45:11. > :45:15.start to think about medals. The pace is slow. Wait and see. Nobody
:45:16. > :45:19.wanting to be the first to crack and break up this group and push on. It
:45:20. > :45:23.is giving confidence to the ones at the back as they become contenders.
:45:24. > :45:30.Definitely giving them a chance to close. Up a bit. We will see --
:45:31. > :45:34.close up a bit. A test of nerves in the final lap. To see who will make
:45:35. > :45:38.the first move and will be able to respond. Little look behind from the
:45:39. > :45:48.youngster from Spain. He must be noticing two things,
:45:49. > :45:52.there is a big group and within that group, he has three team-mates.
:45:53. > :45:53.Certainly two team-mates and one further adrift, that will be good
:45:54. > :46:06.news for him. He is really pushing, the Belgium.
:46:07. > :46:10.They take the bell. This will be a long lap. They will go into the
:46:11. > :46:16.woods before they head into the finish straight. Couple of colour
:46:17. > :46:21.matters running left. Jonathan Davies and Marc Scott still with a
:46:22. > :46:24.chance of picking up individual medals -- couple of kilometres. Marc
:46:25. > :46:33.Scott tried to push things but now it is the Spaniard, Moya trying to
:46:34. > :46:41.force things. -- Mayo. Over this mile of the race. Going into these
:46:42. > :46:46.two bonds. As the athletes go up and over. A surge before that can work
:46:47. > :46:50.out in your favour in terms of getting a bit of a gap and use the
:46:51. > :46:58.downhill sections to build up momentum. Now we see the first group
:46:59. > :47:00.of maybe five just starting to move away and get a bit of daylight
:47:01. > :47:13.between them and the chasing group. We are down to three athletes. At
:47:14. > :47:19.Ross of Germany, Mayo of Spain and Jonathan Davies of Great Britain. --
:47:20. > :47:23.Petros of Germany. He will have walked this section of the course,
:47:24. > :47:27.as we said again and again. We hope the other team members are out
:47:28. > :47:31.there, giving them feedback on the distance of gaps and how their teams
:47:32. > :47:35.are doing. Jonathan Davies is fighting for a medal and the team
:47:36. > :47:40.position will not be foremost in his mind right now. Through the woods,
:47:41. > :47:43.Petros. They have a couple of logs to negotiate and eventually they
:47:44. > :47:50.will take a left hand turn and the home straight of 400 metres. Another
:47:51. > :47:54.look behind Petros. Davies is there. Mayo still hasn't given this up,
:47:55. > :47:59.they are well ahead of the next. -- of the rest. It must be between
:48:00. > :48:05.these three for the medals. Across the logs, don't make mistakes, and
:48:06. > :48:09.over. Davies takes it even better. Petros Looking behind. What a good
:48:10. > :48:13.time to move to the front. Scott trying to hang onto his position,
:48:14. > :48:18.that could be crucial. Richard Goodman letting the Spanish athletes
:48:19. > :48:21.get past him but he is close enough to take them in the home straight,
:48:22. > :48:25.we will wait and see. It will be tight for the team position. The
:48:26. > :48:29.gold medal is still not won but Jonathan Davies doing everything he
:48:30. > :48:36.can to try to make it his. Has he managed to break Petros? Over the
:48:37. > :48:40.sand. 200 metres to the finish, has he got enough left to hold off the
:48:41. > :48:46.fast finish very likely to come from the Spanish athlete Mayo. Davies has
:48:47. > :48:51.good track speed, great effect. A great win for Jonathan Davies of
:48:52. > :48:55.Reading. He can see the finish line. Mayo giving enough, looking behind
:48:56. > :49:00.but trying to chase them but nothing he can do. It will be a European
:49:01. > :49:04.title for Jonathan Davies in the under 23 race. He takes the gold
:49:05. > :49:09.medal for Great Britain, congratulations. Well done. Great
:49:10. > :49:16.finish. Mayo takes second. Just holding off Marc Scott, Petros, for
:49:17. > :49:20.the bronze medal. Scott takes four. Good, strong finish. Richard Goodman
:49:21. > :49:25.will be the next to cross the line. An anxious wait as we look further
:49:26. > :49:28.down for Great Britain's fourth person, to see whether or not they
:49:29. > :49:35.can also take gold in the team raised. Gold, for Jonathan Davies.
:49:36. > :49:40.-- team race. Three seconds ahead of Carlos Mayo, a very good jump from
:49:41. > :49:42.the juniors into the under 23. A surprise bronze medal for Petros.
:49:43. > :49:53.Confirmation of the team results. It was very close. Good performance
:49:54. > :49:56.from the British team. They will be disappointed to have missed out in
:49:57. > :50:02.the end. France taking the bronze well ahead of Italy. My race went
:50:03. > :50:06.pretty much as I'd planned it. I thought I might be able to win, I
:50:07. > :50:10.didn't know. I wanted to get out hard, get the lead and stay there
:50:11. > :50:14.for as long as possible. If you are there, you always have a chance. I
:50:15. > :50:19.was with the leaders in the last lap. The German lad went. I thought
:50:20. > :50:24.I will follow him. I might die here, but I will go for it. Thankfully I
:50:25. > :50:32.had extra strength and got the win, I am so happy. Very proud young man.
:50:33. > :50:47.More sport to come on the BBC tonight.
:50:48. > :50:57.You can join Gabby Logan to hear from all of the nominees.
:50:58. > :51:34.who wins? You decide. Register online now to vote on the night.
:51:35. > :51:41.The junior's women race just over four kilometres, not that long. For
:51:42. > :51:48.this track specialist, a real opportunity. 4157 metres exactly. It
:51:49. > :51:53.may well be a bit confusing. There is the British team. Bobby Clare
:51:54. > :52:00.leading them. We will be coming back to them a bit soon. -- Bobby Clay.
:52:01. > :52:06.There is a longer lap and a shorter lap. The longer lap goes off the
:52:07. > :52:13.racecourse into the trees. Some indication of a long lap. One or two
:52:14. > :52:18.little obstacles have been put in. A couple of steep hills that they go
:52:19. > :52:24.over. One or two other obstacles. A couple of logs over the course.
:52:25. > :52:28.Nothing too strenuous although the hills may have a bit of an effect.
:52:29. > :52:35.One is very steep although not too long. For these junior women, they
:52:36. > :52:40.have to start where they will go. The junior women's race, always one
:52:41. > :52:44.in which Britain does well. A bit of a sprint at the beginning. The
:52:45. > :52:49.course doesn't narrow down pretty quickly. You can see the orange
:52:50. > :52:54.cones coming across to follow them into the corner of the race course
:52:55. > :52:59.where they will stay on. No real sharp turns until they come to the
:53:00. > :53:03.finish. Where they will probably need to watch the turn into the
:53:04. > :53:08.200-metre straight into the finish. It is a sharp right angled turn.
:53:09. > :53:12.Bobby Clay straightaway where she was to be, the front of the field.
:53:13. > :53:19.One of the two smaller figures. Bobby Clay, track specialist as
:53:20. > :53:29.well. European junior champion. Amy
:53:30. > :53:33.Griffiths is right up there already. British team packing around Bobby
:53:34. > :53:38.Clay from the start. And Harriet Knowles-Jones from the north west
:53:39. > :53:42.very much at the front as well. That is to be expected. Everyone will be
:53:43. > :53:47.wanting to watch to see what Bobby Clay does, she is the favourite at
:53:48. > :53:51.the beginning. As never as easy as that. So many great British juniors
:53:52. > :53:55.over the years that have carried on the tradition. Many have moved the
:53:56. > :54:00.senior team. Steph Twell will be going in the senior race today.
:54:01. > :54:07.Bobby, this is a huge opportunity for her.
:54:08. > :54:16.Bobby Clay, as they head out onto this big lap, just putting enough
:54:17. > :54:22.pressure on now that the others are going to have to make a decision to
:54:23. > :54:29.go with Bobby Clay or sit and try to contest. Four people for three
:54:30. > :54:35.medals. Reh Could well run them down but Bobby Clay testing them over the
:54:36. > :54:42.inclines. Reh Trying to chase these four down. Still in a good position.
:54:43. > :54:49.Amy Griffiths just dropping out. She stepped off to the side. She was
:54:50. > :54:52.Britain's fourth counter. Bad news because Amy was going well and would
:54:53. > :54:59.have been expected to figure right up here. That is bad news for the
:55:00. > :55:05.British team. Reh Of Germany doing her best to get back to these four.
:55:06. > :55:12.Has she left it too late? They are heading into the woods. The finish
:55:13. > :55:14.line is not too far away. The last few hundred metres. Harriet
:55:15. > :55:18.Knowles-Jones of Great Britain forging on, the prerace favourites
:55:19. > :55:26.struggling a bit. Great Britain may well lose the team race to Germany.
:55:27. > :55:30.Alina Reh continues to chase down. The gap is closing. She is getting
:55:31. > :55:39.closer to the medals. Harriet Knowles-Jones of Britain moving on.
:55:40. > :55:43.Of Germany moving into first place, Klosterhalfen she knows she is
:55:44. > :55:46.getting closer to the finish. She is getting tired. We will see how she
:55:47. > :55:51.manages to get over these logs, although they are very small.
:55:52. > :55:55.Harriet Knowles-Jones has turned the screw on a difficult section of the
:55:56. > :55:57.course. Far enough away but she has forged a gap and she looks really
:55:58. > :56:08.good going into these closing stages.
:56:09. > :56:18.Sabrina Sinha Going over the logs, she is our third scorer. Alina Rae
:56:19. > :56:21.has moved quickly through. Harriet Knowles-Jones able to
:56:22. > :56:25.has moved quickly through. Harriet line just ahead of her. She is under
:56:26. > :56:31.real pressure from Klosterhalfen of Germany, good 1500 metre pace but so
:56:32. > :56:35.has Harriet Knowles-Jones. Can she use it? The German glides past her.
:56:36. > :56:39.It was a real hope that Great Britain could win the individual
:56:40. > :56:46.gold and perhaps team gold but it is Germany's day-to-day. This is a bit
:56:47. > :56:50.of a surprise. Konstanze Klosterhalfen We'll take the gold
:56:51. > :56:55.medal in the women's junior race for Germany -- will take. Silver medal
:56:56. > :57:01.for Harriet Knowles-Jones, great brave performance for her. Alina Ray
:57:02. > :57:05.finished so strongly. She takes the bronze medal, perhaps left it a bit
:57:06. > :57:08.too late. Anton coming in. Bobby Clay in fifth place. Germany going
:57:09. > :57:19.well, they will win the team race. A real surprise. Konstanze
:57:20. > :57:25.Klosterhalfen. Good track speed at the end. Sabrina comes in as the
:57:26. > :57:29.first British counter. Great Britain affected by Amy Griffiths not having
:57:30. > :57:31.a good day. I am not sure if she will finish. Standing off to one
:57:32. > :57:44.side. Smith will come through. Konstanze Klosterhalfen, a name to
:57:45. > :57:49.watch out for. Bronze medal in 1500 metres on the track. There is her
:57:50. > :57:59.team-mate, Alina Reh. They are very happy. Gold and bronze.
:58:00. > :58:07.Alina Ray finished quickly to take the bronze medal.
:58:08. > :58:14.Germany packing well behind the top two who will take the team gold.
:58:15. > :58:18.Over the moon, I did not expect that, really. I don't know, I found
:58:19. > :58:23.myself in the lead with 200 to go, that was a real but I ran for my
:58:24. > :58:28.life. She was so quick into that last bit, we will work on that.
:58:29. > :58:30.COMMENTATOR: Very well-deserved silver medal for Harriet
:58:31. > :58:35.Knowles-Jones, she should go away very pleased with her run, she gave
:58:36. > :58:40.it a good shot at trying to break away. Just did not quite have enough
:58:41. > :58:41.left in her legs to hold off the eventual sprint finish and win from
:58:42. > :58:59.Konstanze Klosterhalfen. The junior men. Just a few minutes
:59:00. > :59:06.away from the start. The great Britain team led by Ben Dukstra will
:59:07. > :59:11.hope they can go well. Might be difficult to get among the
:59:12. > :59:15.individual medals. Italy, couple of the favourites. Four of the men who
:59:16. > :59:20.finished in the top five, they are here again in the junior race.
:59:21. > :59:27.Junior men's race gets underway. Just under six kilometres. They will
:59:28. > :59:35.have three of the long laps to content. As ever, a real stampede at
:59:36. > :59:41.the beginning, water lying on the home straight but so good underfoot.
:59:42. > :59:49.Just settling down and looking for position over the first 800 metres.
:59:50. > :59:52.It will be interesting to see how well this belly inexperienced
:59:53. > :59:56.British team, the junior men, we never know how they will perform in
:59:57. > :00:06.the race but it will be the Italians who we expect to be well to the
:00:07. > :00:12.front. Having to work hard to stay with the leaders as well. Back in
:00:13. > :00:19.sixth place. Starting to push on a little bit. Still early stages but
:00:20. > :00:24.he has that ability, he is of course a man who always surprises people by
:00:25. > :00:28.being in the junior ranks, that does happen, people come in and do well
:00:29. > :00:37.as a 17-year-old and then continue all the way through. Under 20
:00:38. > :00:42.stipulation. Already now building up a lead of ten metres. That has
:00:43. > :00:46.opened up quickly as well, he picked up the pace a little bit as they
:00:47. > :00:51.came down the starting straight and just blew apart the field a little
:00:52. > :00:58.bit. The gaps now are really opening up. His older brother will also be
:00:59. > :01:06.racing later in the under 23 race. They obviously have a good family
:01:07. > :01:16.heritage of running. He has really opened up the race as they go into
:01:17. > :01:22.the second lap. Crippa seems to have settled again. Here are the team
:01:23. > :01:27.standings, Britain are holding onto the team bronze from Spain but it
:01:28. > :01:31.can change in the last lap. The British guys still packing well. All
:01:32. > :01:35.six are reasonably well involved so even if one or two drop off they
:01:36. > :01:42.still have a chance of holding onto the bronze medal. The French third
:01:43. > :01:46.counter, just going through and now the fourth counter so they have
:01:47. > :01:54.definitely moved forward over this lap. Crippa rallies again, perhaps
:01:55. > :02:01.sensing the danger even know there is not far to go, he still has to be
:02:02. > :02:05.strong, a bit of sand. There is the left-hand turn. The Spaniard looks
:02:06. > :02:09.over his shoulder and the Frenchman makes the first big effort. They are
:02:10. > :02:14.chasing down Crippa who anxiously looks over his shoulder but he
:02:15. > :02:20.should be fine here. What a great race for second and third but Crippa
:02:21. > :02:24.can already celebrate, the Italian wins the junior title. Crippa Italy
:02:25. > :02:35.takes the gold in the junior men's race. The home fans have something
:02:36. > :02:42.to cheer as Pallcau from France has finished in second. Alex will be the
:02:43. > :02:46.first of the British contenders to cross the line after a really strong
:02:47. > :02:55.performance. Not far away from the medals. France finishing strongly,
:02:56. > :03:01.they will pack well. I think Britain cross our fingers, they may well get
:03:02. > :03:07.the bronze medal in the team race. Crippa won in the end by six seconds
:03:08. > :03:13.from the fast finishing Palcau. Popular silver medal for the
:03:14. > :03:16.Frenchman. The great news for the home nation is that they took the
:03:17. > :03:22.gold medal by two points from Italy. They were the prerace favourites,
:03:23. > :03:29.Italy. Excellent performance from Great Britain. At a time when
:03:30. > :03:31.athletics needs to restore credibility the traditional
:03:32. > :03:36.discipline of cross-country may be helped in a small way today.
:03:37. > :03:42.Particularly in a British perspective, top of the medals
:03:43. > :03:45.tables. Jonathan Davies was the only individual winner and he also led
:03:46. > :03:52.the men's under 23 team to the silver medal. Laura Muir, fourth in
:03:53. > :03:59.the women's individual event and led her team to the title. Brilliant
:04:00. > :04:03.individual silver medals and Harriet fled the women to the silver in that
:04:04. > :04:08.event. No individual is accessible the man but both teams picked up a
:04:09. > :04:13.bronze medal. -- no individual success. The impact on the IAAF was
:04:14. > :04:21.felt here with no Russian team is taking part. Today was a small step
:04:22. > :04:25.in the right direction but there may be more pain ahead. Let's hope that
:04:26. > :04:30.the sport can eventually finish in a better place in 2016. We have more
:04:31. > :04:34.cross-country for you in the New Year with Edinburgh and the
:04:35. > :04:39.traditional cross-country fixture. We look forward to seeing Mo Farah
:04:40. > :04:42.get his 2016 Olympic campaign underway. For now, from Paula
:04:43. > :04:46.Radcliffe and me Steve Cram, it's goodbye.