Soufiane El Bakkali lived up to his position as favourite in the final IAAF Cross Country Permit meeting of the season ©Twitter

Soufiane El Bakkali and Carla Salomé Rocha lived up to expectations at the Almond Blossom Cross Country, winning the senior races at the International Association of Athletics Federations Cross Country Permit Meeting in Albufeira.

Their respective tasks were made slightly easier as a Kenyan contingent failed to make it to Portugal after running into difficulties with visas.

In the senior men’s 9.35 kilometres race, 22-year-old El Bakkali was challenged by Portuguese veteran Rui Pedro Silva, 15 years older than the Moroccan, until the last of the five laps.

El Bakkali, who had tried to lead during the early stages, explained afterwards why he soon backed off the pace.

"At the beginning of the event I felt pain in my left foot," he said.

" wanted to save myself for a quick sprint in the last meters to take the victory."

Portugal's Carla Rocha earned a home victory in the final IAAF Cross Country Permit race of the season in Albufeira - repeating her victory in the same race of 2016 ©Getty Images
Portugal's Carla Rocha earned a home victory in the final IAAF Cross Country Permit race of the season in Albufeira - repeating her victory in the same race of 2016 ©Getty Images

El Bakkali crossed the finish line in 28min 14sec, eight seconds ahead of Silva, who recently finished second at the Portuguese Road Race Championships.

Portugal’s Tiago Costa finished a distant third with team-mate Pedro Pinheiro in fourth, both finishing ahead of another veteran, Ricardo Ribas.

The women’s 6.15km event saw Rocha lead from the early stages and run away with the win in 20:44, 35 seconds ahead of her nearest challenger.

"I felt good from the beginning,” said Rocha, winner here in 2016 and now has the same number of Almond Blossom wins as 1988 Olympic marathon champion Rosa Mota.

"The course is really challenging, but the crowd yelling for me was really, really great.”

There was a close finish for second place as Andrea Deelstra of The Netherlands and Portugal's Mónica Silva both crossed the line in 21:19, but the Dutch runner was given the runner-up spot.