Kicking off the cross country season at the Lotto Cross Cup - Roeselare

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Senior women's team at Roeselare cross country 2026

The EnergyVision CrossCup in Roeselare has become the traditional opening fixture of the cross-country season for the England Cross Country Association (ECCA). Held annually in the West Flanders city, the meeting is renowned for exciting, demanding racing and consistently attracts strong fields. This year was no exception.

Having rained all day Saturday race day was Sunny, bright and a mild feel about the temperature the course stood up well and was very firm under foot.

Senior women

Faye O'Hare at Lotto Cross Cup in Roeselare

The Senior Ladies completed a 7800m course consisting of a start loop, one small lap and four large laps. After a wait on the start line the senior ladies got out fast with a charge to the hairpin bend with all jostling for a good position. The Dutch athletes took the field out fast which was no surprise as this race was one of the Dutch selection races for the European Cross Country. The England quartet came out of the hairpin in the middle of the field but quickly moved through the field. Jess Gibbon led the English team through the field closely followed by Faye O'Hare and Ellie Curran with Kate O'Neill not too far behind.

The positioning at the front of the field didn’t change too much until the last lap and Hanna Van Aalten’s fast finish gave her the win closely followed by her fellow Dutch athletes in second and third. Jess worked her way through the field to finish in a credible fourth place and Faye ran a confident positive race to finish sixth putting her in good form going into the cross country season. Kate also moved through the field to finish in 14th and Ellie finished in 18th.

Results:

4th: Jess Gibbon (Reading AC) - 27:32
6th: Faye O'Hare (Liverpool AC, Anthony Clarke) - 27:47
14th: Kate O'Neill (Havering AC, Patrick Gahagan) - 28:37
18th: Ellie Curran (Leeds City) - 29:02

Senior men

A fast start and a hairpin turn seemed to catch out the English team as no one was particularly well placed but it wasn’t long before they worked their way to the fore of the race. James Kingston actually went into the lead as early as lap two to commence a battle with Van de Kerkhove, Jacob Cann was a little further back in third with Ted Higgins not too far behind in the next group - Callum Charleston was battling a little further down the field.

As the athletes weaved around the twisting, winding, undulating course the laps seemed to go very quickly, seven in total with the first two laps being slightly shorter. Kingston second last year was trying to go one better and was in a battle with Van de Kerkhove as they pulled clear of the chasing pack. Higgins got past Cann into fourth with Cann dropping a few places further back to seventh.

On the last lap it looked like Kingston might be second again as he had stopped off the pace unless he could muster one last effort.

Higgins was looking solid in fourth and Cann eighth but both were under pressure. Kingston had to settle for second with Higgins loosing a place late on in the race to finish fifth and Cann holding eigth. Charleston came home in 34th place after a difficult race.

Senior men at Lotto Cross Cup in Roeselare, Belgium

Results

2nd: James Kingston (Tonbridge AC, Mark Hookway) - 24:28
5th: Ted Higgins (Tonbridge AC, Mark Hookway) - 24:40
8th: Jacob Cann (Western Tempo) - 24:50
34th: Callum Charlestone (Aldershot Farnham & District, Mick Woods) - 27:02

Junior women

The Junior Women were represented by Sabrina Coppola Johansen, Imogen Edwards, Eleanor Foster and Isabella Tutt. Imogen, Eleanor and Isabella were making their England cross country debuts.

The race began with the customary frantic charge to secure a prime position before the hairpin bend, and Imogen immediately went to the front. By the start of the first lap, she had already opened up a 10-metre lead over the chasing pack, headed by Eleanor, Sabrina and Isabella.

Lotto Cross Cup 2026 junior women's podium

By the end of the first lap, Belgium's Kaate Mulders had joined Imogen at the front. As the second lap progressed, the Belgian athlete began to pull away. Meanwhile, Eleanor continued to close the gap and moved ahead of Imogen into second place on the final lap. Further back, Sabrina and Isabella continued to work hard.

Mulders maintained her lead and went on to claim victory by a ten-second margin, with a jubilant Eleanor finishing as runner-up. Imogen was caught by the fast-finishing Elise Pietinck of Belgium and crossed the line in fourth place. Sabrina finished 12th, while Isabella, the youngest member of the team, placed 15th.

Results:

2nd: Eleanor Foster (North Devon AC, Mark Brace) - 16:45
4th: Imogen Edwards (Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC, Rod Finch) - 16:49
12th: Sabrina Coppola Johansen (Aldershot, Mick Woods) - 17:36
15th: Isabella Tutt (Halifax Harriers & AC, Steve Mann) - 17:43

Junior women at Lotto Cross Cup in Roeselare

Junior men

The race opened with the customary frantic charge for position before the hairpin bend at the end of the short starting straight. The four England athletes began positively and had all moved into the top 20 by the first climb.

Making his England debut, Cosmo Benyan was the first English athlete to feature prominently. Close behind were Jack Marwood and fellow debutant Jack Sanderson. Ewen Busfield of sat slightly further back after a more cautious start.

With several athletes seeking to impress national selectors, the pace was fierce from the outset. For the England quartet, the race also offered valuable preparation before the European Trials at Sefton Park on 28 November.

Benyan made full use of his England opportunity, running on the shoulders of the leaders throughout the opening lap. By the start of lap two, the more experienced Marwood had also established himself in the contest for a leading finish. The order changed little during the second circuit, although the first ten athletes began to open a decisive gap over the chasing pack.

On lap three, Marwood moved ahead of Benyan, though the podium was beginning to slip out of reach. After finishing second in Hannut the previous winter, he had arrived with high expectations. Mountain runner Sanderson found the relentless pace and short course challenging but continued to race strongly. Busfield, only recently recovered from a cold, struggled with both the course and the aggressive style of racing.

On the final lap, the focus shifted to a four-way battle involving Belgium’s Hugo Jeukenne, Roel Damman and Francois Collette, with the Netherlands’ Sam Keulen also firmly in contention.

Jeukenne entered the finishing straight with a narrow lead and held on to win in 14:20. It was a thrilling conclusion: only five seconds separated the first six finishers. Marwood led the team home in sixth, followed by Benyan in seventh, Sanderson in tenth and Busfield in fifteenth.