Abebe Dinkesa in action in Tourcoing (© Carole Fuchs)
Ethiopian Teyiba Erkesso on the women's side and Abebe Dinkessa in the men's race were the undisputed winners of the 19th Cross Auchan Lille Metropole - IAAF permit - race that was held in Tourcoing on Sunday (1 Feb).
Pre-race favourites Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine and Tanzania's Fabian Joseph faded respectively to 5th and 7th, and the participation of Nicholas Kemboi finally didn't materialise due to visa problems.
The afternoon started with a true show of force by Teyiba Erkesso who took over command of the women's race in the early stages. Hungary's Aniko Kalovics didn't depart from her usual front running habit and both athletes immediately opened a gap on their pursuers.
The pace set by the winner of the Hannut cross the week before once again couldn't be sustained by Kalovics who progressively lost contact after 1800m, leaving Erkesso to build on a lead that she increased to 80m by the finish line.
The competition was fierce for the minor places with Moroccan runner Bouchra Chaabi gaining ground on a struggling Kalovics who was unable to resist in the end.
21-year old Erkesso, who now lives in Addis-Ababa but originally comes from Arsi like many of her famous Ethiopian counterparts, explained after the race: "I had a good preparation at altitude so that was easy for me".
Seeing herself rather as a road and cross specialist, the young athlete will soon head back to her country with the goal to make the squad that will uphold Ethiopian pride next month in Brussels (World Cross Country Championships).
Runner-up Bouchra Chaabi commented: "This second place is good for my self-confidence. It shows that my preparation in Ifrane has paid off."
"Now, I am focusing on the short race of the World Championships where I hope to get a spot in the first ten. After that I'll try to achieve the Olympic standard at 1500m, but my long-term preparation is oriented towards the 3000m steeple. I currently hold the national record and I'm longing to take part in the 2005 World Championships in the event".
Dinkessa demolishes pre-race favourites
The outcome of the men's race was also settled long before the finish line though it took more time to see the winner emerge, the little-known Abebe Dinkessa, who was not one of the pre-race favourites.
The race took off at a conservative pace with around twenty runners tightly bunched in the leading pack throughout the first of the five laps.
A first attack launched on the hill in the second lap by defending champion Sergiy Lebid reduced the leading pack to eleven but didn't go far enough, and the attempt to break away by Tanzania's Fabian Joseph one lap further from the same point also met with little success.
The turning point came after the 6th kilometre when only three athletes - Khalid El Amri of Morocco, Sammy Tum of Kenya, and Ethiopia's Abebe Dinkessa - could follow the change in pace led by Julius Kiptoo. By then Lebid and Joseph had been left behind.
From then on Dinkessa progressively took control of the race, securing a comfortable lead, while Kiptoo and El Aamri were left battling for second place, which finally went to the latter.
Explaining how he built his first victory in a European cross-country race, 20-year old Abebe Dinkessa explained: "I used the first three laps as rounds of observation. Then, I saw I had a chance and decided to go". His credentials include a 9th place at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships as a junior and a 7th place at 5000m in the African track championships the same year.
As for Sergiy Lebid, his poor performance raised doubts about the continuation of his cross-country season: "I felt tired. My focus now is on the indoor season and I did some very hard training sessions recently, so I didn't feel my legs. In so far as the World Cross Country Championships are concerned, I would say that after my running today, I won't take part in them. We'll see".
Results :
Men (9700m)
1. Abebe Dinkessa ETH 26:43
2. Khalid El Aamri MAR 26:48
3. Julius Kiptoo KEN 26:50
4. Mostapha Mohamed SWE 26:55
5.Sergiy Lebid UKR 27:04
6. Sammy Tum KEN 27:09
7. Fabian Joseph 27:15
8. Claes Nyberg SWE 27:27
9. Mustapha El Ahmadi FRA 27:31
10. Ahmed El Amzahoui MAR 27:34
Women (5530m)
1. Teyiba Erkesso ETH 17:39
2. Bouchra Chaabi MAR 17:53
3. Aniko Kalovics HUN 18:01
4. Natalie Harvey AUS 18:09
5. Fatiha Klilech-Fauvel FRAU 18:11
