Tuemay controlled the leading men's group for four of the five laps along with 19-year-old compatriot Lemecha Girma - who took world silver in the 3,000 metres steeplechase this year after finishing one hundredth of a second behind Kenya’s Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto.

The eventual winner broke away at the bell and upped his pace over the tenth and final kilometre to finish in 29min 01sec, with Girma taking second place in 29:11.

Kenya’s Robert Keter, the 5km world record holder, emerged from the chasing pack to take third place, just two seconds behind Girma.

Fourth place went to Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa, last year’s European Cross Country bronze medallist, in 29:18, who finished four seconds ahead of the European Cross Country silver medallist Aras Kaya of Kenya.

Tuemay finished 18th at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Aarhus last year and set a personal best of 27:23.49 in the 10,000m at the Ethiopian World Championships trials race in Hengelo last July.

In the 6km women’s race, world 5,000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi and her fellow Kenyan Gloria Kite went to the front early, and by the halfway mark the race was down to them and the Ethiopian pair of Tesfay and and Alemitu Tariku after Italy’s double European under-20 cross country champion Nadia Battocletti had dropped back.

Tesfay and Kipkemboi battled it out for the win in the final lap and it was the 21-year-old Ethiopian who produced the stronger kick to win a final sprint which saw both women timed at 19:27.

Kite finished third in 19:29 ahead of Tariku, who clocked 19:37, and Cherono, who crossed in 19:45.