Italian European gold medallists Iliass Aouani and Yemaneberhan Crippa will both compete at the Cross di Alà dei Sardi on 8 February.
With Italy absent from the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, the nation’s leading male distance runners are focussing on domestic competitions as they look to return to road action in the Spring.
Building up to road challenges
Aouani, who won the marathon at the inaugural European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven last year before adding world bronze over the classic distance in Tokyo has joined Crippa as a flag-bearer for Italian male distance running in the last year.
Crippa, who won half marathon gold at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships has the stronger pedigree on cross country, having twice won silver at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon 2019 and Antalya 2024.
But it promises to be an interesting test for the Italian duo over the new 10.5km course. Looking further ahead, Crippa will race at the Naples Half Marathon on Sunday 22 February and Aouani has committed to racing the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday 1 March.