The Lotto Cross Cup is an annual series of international cross country running competitions in Belgium. The inaugural season was in 1982–1983. The series comprises Belgium's foremost cross country competitions, including the IAAF permit meeting in Brussels (Lotto Cross Cup Brussels) and the European Athletics sanctioned meeting in Roeselare (Lotto Cross Cup van West-Vlaanderen) – Belgium's only world and European level meetings.[1] [2]
The series previously featured six meetings (legs),[3] but this expanded after 2003 and by 2009 the series had eight competitions in its schedule. The series typically begins in October and concludes in March.[4] Throughout the series, athletes can earn points based on their performance, ranging from 25 points for first place and one point for fifteenth place. These points are then combined at the end of the series and the male and female athletes with the greatest totals are declared the winners.[5]
In addition to the main men's and women's senior races, there are junior, masters and student competitions, as well as an under-23s competition sponsored by EuroMillions. There are also short-course cross country competitions, which are worth half the prize money of the longer races.[5]
The series attracts mainly Belgian athletes, although British athlete Roger Hackney won the men's series in the 1988–89 edition. Furthermore, the meetings in Brussels, Roeselare and Hannut often attract many high-calibre international athletes.[6] [7] [8]
| Leg | Date | Meeting | Location | City | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 25 October | Lotto Cross Cup Gent | Blaarmeersen | Ghent | ||
| 2nd | 7 November | Lotto Cross Cup Mol | Provinciaal Domein Zilvermeer | Mol | ||
| 3rd | 29 November | Lotto Cross Cup van West-Vlaanderen | Schiervelde Stadion | Roeselare | EAA meeting | |
| 4th | 20 December | Lotto Cross Cup Brussels | Park van Laken | Brussels | IAAF permit meeting | |
| 5th | 3 January | Lotto Cross Cup Hulshout | Sportcentrum Sportiva | Hulshout | ||
| 6th | 14 February | Lotto Cross Cup Hannut | Stade Lucien Gustin | Hannut | ||
| 7th | 27 February | Lotto Cross Cup Dour | Site de la Machine à Feu | Dour | ||
| 8th | 14 March | Lotto Cross Cup Ostend | De Schorre (Quartier Stene) | Ostend | Lotto Cross Cup Final/ Belgian Cross Country Championships |
| Lotto Cross Cup Wachtebeke | Provinciaal Domein Puyenbroeck | Wachtebeke | 2005, 2006 |
| Season | Men's winner | Women's winner | Men's short race winner | Women's short race winner | Men's U-23 winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982–83 |  Leon Schots | — | — | — | — | |
| 1983–84 | Vincent Rousseau | Francine Peeters | — | — | — | |
| 1984–85 | Vincent Rousseau | Betty van Steenbroek | — | — | — | |
| 1985–86 | Vincent Rousseau | Betty van Steenbroek | — | — | — | |
| 1986–87 | Vincent Rousseau | Ingrid Delagrange | — | — | — | |
| 1987–88 | Vincent Rousseau | Véronique Collard | — | — | — | |
| 1988–89 |  Roger Hackney | Véronique Collard | — | — | — | |
| 1989–90 | Ruddy Walem | Ingrid Delagrange | — | — | — | |
| 1990–91 | Vincent Rousseau | Véronique Collard | — | — | — | |
| 1991–92 | Vincent Rousseau | Lieve Slegers | — | — | — | |
| 1992–93 | Vincent Rousseau | Ingrid Delagrange | — | — | — | |
| 1993–94 | William Van Dijck | Ingrid Delagrange | — | — | — | |
| 1994–95 | Ruddy Walem | Lieve Slegers | — | — | — | |
| 1995–96 | William Van Dijck | Stefanija Statkuviené | — | — | — | |
| 1996–97 | Mohammed Mourhit | Marleen Renders | — | — | — | |
| 1997–98 | Mohammed Mourhit | Veerle Dejaeghere | — | — | — | |
| 1998–99 | Ruddy Walem | Anja Smolders | — | — | — | |
| 1999–2000 | Tom Compernolle | Veerle Dejaeghere | — | — | — | |
| 2000–01 | Tom van Hooste | Anja Smolders | — | — | — | |
| 2001–02 | Tom van Hooste | Anja Smolders | Tim Clerbout | — | — | |
| 2002–03 | Tom van Hooste | Fatiha Baouf | Ridouane Es-Saadi | — | — | |
| 2003–04 | Tom van Hooste | Veerle Dejaeghere | Ridouane Es-Saadi | — | — | |
| 2004–05 | Tom van Hooste | Veerle Dejaeghere | Tim Clerbout | — | Pieter Desmet | |
| 2005–06 | Tom van Hooste | Veerle Dejaeghere | Dries Busselot | — | Kristof Mouton | |
| 2006–07 | Pieter Desmet | Veerle Dejaeghere | Dries Busselot | — | Michael Brandenbourg | |
| 2007–08 | Pieter Desmet | Veerle Dejaeghere | Kim Ruell | — | Sanne Torfs | |
| 2008–09 | Pieter Desmet | Veerle Dejaeghere | Kim Ruell | — | Atelaw Yeshetela Bekele | |
| 2009–10 | Pieter Desmet | Veerle Dejaeghere | Wesley De Kerpel | — | Sanne Torfs | |
| 2010–11 | Jeroen D'Hoedt | Veerle Dejaeghere | Tom Van Rooy | — | Jeroen D'Hoedt | |
| 2011–12 | Atelaw Yeshetela Bekele | Veerle Dejaeghere | Maarten Van Steen | — | Koen Naert | |
| 2012–13 | Koen Naert | Veerle Dejaeghere | Kim Ruell | — | Dries Basemans | |
| 2013–14 | Jeroen D'Hoedt | Veerle Dejaeghere | Isaac Kimeli | — | Dries Basemans | |
| 2014–15 | Isaac Kimeli | Louise Carton | Franky Hernould | — | Isaac Kimeli | |
| 2015–16 | Isaac Kimeli | Louise Carton | Dieter Kersten | — | Isaac Kimeli | |
| 2016–17 | Isaac Kimeli | Louise Carton | Ismael Debjani | — | Dieter Kersten | |
| 2017–18 | Souffiane Bouchiki | Imana Truyers | Jeroen D'Hoedt | — | Simon Debognies | |
| 2018–19 | Isaac Kimeli | Nina Lauwaert | Valère Hustin | — | Dorian Boulvin | |
| 2019–20 | Dieter Kersten | Hanna Verbruggen | Robin Hendrix | — | Tim Van de Velde | |
| 2020–21 | John Heymans | Mieke Gorissen | Ruben Querinjean | — | Guillaume Grimard | |
| 2021–22 | Michael Somers | Mieke Gorissen | Ruben Querinjean | Elise Vanderelst | Arnaud Collard | |
| 2022–23 | Isaac Kimeli | Lisa Rooms | Maxim Delvoie | Mariska Parewyck | Yorick Van De Kerkhove | |
| 2023–24 | Guillaume Grimard | Jana Van Lent | Audah Ziad | Charlotte Van Hese | Noah Konteh |