Everything you need to know about the European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa on December 14.

A total of 644 athletes from 36 countries are set to compete at the 31st edition of the European Cross Country Championships.

This year's event in Lagoa will be the fourth time that Portugal has hosted the championships after Oeiras (1997), Albufeira (2010) and Lisbon (2019).

Great Britain has historically done well at Euro Cross and tops the all-time table with 201 medals, with 89 of them being gold.

At last year's edition in Antalya, Great Britain secured six gold medals – Will Barnicoat (U23), Phoebe Anderson (U23) and Innes FitzGerald (U20) walked away with individual honours.

International stars to watch out for this year include the likes of Jimmy Gressier, Nadia Battocletti, Isaac Nader and Diane van Es.

Senior men 

With no Jakob Ingebrigtsen at this year's Euro Cross – the Norwegian is instead focusing on the 2026 season after a summer riddled with injuries – it presents an opportunity for others in Portugal.

Two years ago, with Ingebrigtsen absence in Brussels, Yann Schrub topped the podium in muddy conditions in the Belgian capital. France's prospects of securing gold look good once again as one of the favourites for this year's edition is Jimmy Gressier.

Gressier arrives in Lagoa off the back of a record-breaking summer which included 10,000m gold and 5000m bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. He also claimed the Diamond League 3000m title and triumphed in the half-marathon at the European Running Championships in Brussels.

On top of his track and road pedigree, the French athlete is a triple U23 champion and senior bronze medallist at Euro Cross, with the earliest of those titles coming back in 2017.

The closest challenger to Gressier could be Dominic Lobalu. The Swiss athlete topped the 10,000m podium at last summer's European Athletics Championships in Rome, a race where Gressier placed fifth.

Lobalu also secured 5000m bronze at those championships and is the Swiss half-marathon record-holder with a best of 59:12. This will be Lobalu's debut at Euro Cross and it will be interesting to see if he can translate that track speed to the mud and the grass in Lagoa.

Spain's Thierry Ndikumwenayo will be aiming to upgrade his senior bronze medal from last year's edition to gold this time round. Ndikumwenayo led Spain to team gold in Antalya and is also a European 10,000m bronze medallist.

The British charge will likely be led by teammates and training partners Scott Beattie and Rory Leonard. The pair finished 1-2 at Liverpool Cross Challenge and are both coached by Andy Hobdell at HOKA-supported Team Makou.

Beattie couldn't represent Great Britain in Antalya due to a passport issue while Leonard was the highest placed Brit in the field in ninth.

Senior women 

Nadia Battocletti will defend her senior individual crown, 12 months on from becoming the first woman to win Euro Cross U20, U23 and senior titles.

The Italian has been in scintillating form this summer with 10,000m silver and 5000m bronze at the World Athletics Championships, as well as the 10km title at the European Running Championships.

The strength in depth for the senior women's race in Lagoa however is incredibly strong, with five of the top six finishers from Antalya returning.

Yasemin Can, a four-time winner of the senior race at Euro Cross, could be Battocletti's biggest threat. The Turkish athlete, who is also a European 5000m and 10,000m champion, was third in Antalya behind Battocletti and Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen.

Portugal's Mariana Machado finished fifth last year and will be one to watch, as will Netherlands' Diane van Es, who is a European 10,000m silver medallist.

Abbie Donnelly was the last senior British female athlete to make the podium and she will be hoping to repeat that again. Donnelly secured bronze in Brussels two years ago and arrives in Lagoa off the back of a 2:24:11 marathon in Frankfurt in October, as well as a fifth place finish at Liverpool Cross Challenge.

Megan Keith didn't compete in Liverpool but has been in fine form on the cross-country circuit with three respective fourth places in Cardiff, Atapuerca and Madrid.

U23 men 

Will Barinocat and Nick Griggs produced one of the greatest ever finishes at Euro Cross at last year's edition in Antalya.

After tussling for the lead all the way down the home straight just one second separated the duo at the finish line, with Barnicoat edging out Griggs.

Expect more fireworks from these two once again in the under-23 men's race as Barnicoat aims to win his third consecutive title in the age group.

Interestingly, Griggs did get the better of Barnicoat over 5000m at this summer's European U23 Championships, with the Irishman taking gold and the Brit claiming bronze.

One other athlete to look our for is Denmark's Joel Ibler Lillesø, a European U23 10,000m champion and his nation's 5000m record-holder.

Ibler Lillesø, being an under-20 individual bronze medallist from Dublin four years ago, has cross-country pedigree as well.

U23 women

Spain's María Forero will likely arrive in Lagoa as the favourite after an outstanding summer on the track. Forero topped the podium over 5000m at the European U23 Championships and won by over eight seconds in Norway.

Forero, an under-20 individual champion at Euro Cross, secured silver in the under-23 age group in Antalya and will aim to upgrade that to gold this year.

Ireland's Anika Thompson is also in the field and will hope to translate her success on the track this summer to cross-country. Thompson secured 5000m bronze and shared the podium with Forero, as well as claiming the 10,000m title.

The past two winners of this title have both come from Great Britain – Megan Keith and Phoebe Anderson – and the British challenge for this edition will be headed by the likes of Megan Harris, Mia Waldmann and Rebecca Flaherty.

U20 men

Expected to be one of the most open races of the entire championships, a number of athletes could top the podium in Lagoa.

Norway's Håkon Moe Berg is the European under-23 1500m and 3000m champion so expect him to challenge. Sweden's Karl Ottfalk claimed 5000m silver and 3000m bronze at those championships and, given he placed fifth at last year's Euro Cross, could also be a threat.

British athletes have always done well in this age category at Euro Cross and there is great strength in depth, so they could have a strong shot in winning the team title.

Michael Clark leads the team of six, having won the Liverpool Cross Challenge, but also watch out for the likes of Will Rabjohns and Alex Lennon.

U20 women

Innes FitzGerald is going for a hat-trick of titles in her final Euro Cross in the under-20 category. The Brit has dominated both domestically and across the continent in previous years, winning comfortably in both Brussels and Antalya.

Her preparation for Lagoa couldn't have gone better either, with the Exeter-based athlete impressing at both the Cardiff and Liverpool Cross Challenge. This past summer she also secured European 3000m and 5000m titles, on top of breaking Zola Budd's 40-year-old British U20 5000m record at the London Diamond League.

Great Britain will also be a good bet for the team title and boast the likes of Eliza Nicholson, Lizzie Wellsted and Zara Redmond in the squad.

Mixed relay 

If the Portuguese public tuned into the men's 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships, then expect a big reaction to Isaac Nader running for the nation in the mixed relay.

In one of the most dramatic races of the championships, Nader chased down the leaders in the home straight to secure an incredible victory in Tokyo.

He is the standout name in the Portugal team but it also includes Paris Olympian and double European indoor medallist Salomé Afonso.

The British quartet is made up of Holly Dixon, Callum Elson, Jack Higgins and Ava Lloyd.

Timetable (same time as GMT) 

09:30 – U20 women (4290m)
10:00 U20 men (4290m)
10:26 – U23 women (5790m)
11:00 – U23 men (5790m)
11:30 – Mixed Relay (4x1500m)
12:00 – Senior women (7290m)
12:41 – Senior men (7290m)

The event will be show on BBC Red Button/iPlayer at 09:20 GMT, with highlights on BBC Two at 16:40 GMT.