Defending champion Lucy Mawia and 2021 winner Rodrigue Kwizera will return to the Cross Internacional de Soria – the fifth Gold level meeting of this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour – on Sunday (19) at the Monte Valonsadero circuit, a beautiful forest on the outskirts of Soria.

In the men’s 10km contest, Burundi’s Kwizera will clash with Kenya's Hillay Chepkwony. Kwizera opened his cross country season with a third place in Atapuerca before placing third in Seville last weekend just behind Chepkwony. The 24-year-old Kenyan proved to be in stellar form on that occasion when he only just missed out on victory in a blanket finish.

Chepkwony impressed on his international racing debut, winning the Venlo Half Marathon in March in 59:20. More recently he improved to 58:53 in Valencia, just a few weeks after pacing Eliud Kipchoge to victory at the Berlin Marathon. Following his promising cross-country debut in Seville last weekend, Chepkwony will be looking for his first victory on that surface on Sunday.

In addition to the Spain-based Kwizera, his toughest opponent well might be Uganda's Martin Kiprotich, who was sixth in Seville last weekend. Watch out too for the Burundi's Celestin Ndikumana, who won the opening Gold leg in Amorebieta last month and placed fourth in Atapuerca the following week. The Italy-based Burundian finished 20th at the World Cross earlier this year and 15th over 5km at the World Road Running Championships in Riga last month.

Eritrean duo Aron Kifle and Filmon Kibrom should also be in contention. The former placed 11th in Seville in his first competitive race for almost two years after struggling with injuries and hopes to improve on that performance on Sunday. 20-year-old Kibrom, meanwhile, was fourth in Amorebieta.

Spanish hopes rest with Abdessadam Oukhelfen, Sergio Paniagua and Nassim Hassaous. Oukhelfen is the 2019 European U23 cross-country bronze medallist and will be competing for the fourth consecutive weekend following an eighth place in Atapuerca, a fourth spot in San Sebastián and a seventh-place finish in Seville just ahead of Paniagua, the current national silver medallist.

In the women’s race, two of the most prolific racers in the World Cross Country Tour will clash over 8km.

Mawia, the winner here in 2021 and 2022, will be seeking a third consecutive victory. The Kenyan, who won last season’s World Cross Country Tour, kicked off her current cross-country campaign with a third-place finish in Amorebieta prior to her sixth place in Atapuerca.

Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw opened her season with a win in Amorebieta and a fourth-place finish in Atapuerca – both times finishing ahead of Mawia – before placing second in Cardiff last weekend. Amebaw's margins over Mawia – 27 seconds in Amorebieta and 48 seconds in Atapuerca – suggests the Spain-based 25-year-old should start as the favourite.

The line-up also includes Ethiopia's Asayech Ayichew (a 15:06.35 5000m performer), Burundi's Micheline Niyomahoro, France's Alessia Zarbo, who was fourth in Amorebieta, and Lili Anna Vindics-Toth, who represented Hungary in the steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics.

The local contingent includes Marta García, a 15:02.11 5000m performer who finished in the top 10 in Atapuerca, 1500m specialist Águeda Marqués and steeplechaser Irene Sánchez-Escribano.

Notable past victors in Soria include the likes of Ethiopia’s 2000 Olympic 5000m champion Million Wolde, Kenya’s 2001 world 10,000m champion Charles Kamathi, 1997 world 10,000m champion Sally Barsosio, Eritrea’s 2007 world cross country champion Zersenay Tadese, 2010 world cross country champion Joseph Ebuya and 2009 world 10,000m champion Linet Masai.

Unlike many previous editions when temperatures were close to zero, weather forecasters predict a sunny and windless day on Sunday with temperatures between 15-17C by the time of the event.

Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics