2015 European Cross Country Championships 2015 European Cross Country Championships The 2015 European Cross Country Championships was the 22nd edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was hosted in Hyères, France. The 2014 runner-up Ali Kaya took the men's senior title, retaining the crown for Turkey. Spain, led by 2013 champion Alemayehu Bezabeh, returned to the top of the team rankings in that category. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands was the women's senior winner, building upon her under-23 title win of 2013. Great Britain defended the women's team title, led by Kate Avery, who was runner-up for a second time running.
Nemrut (volcano) mapped the area, and some, including the British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard, explored the remains of Urartu fortresses around Lake Van. In this period it was suggested that the unusual structure of the watersheds in the region, and the very formation of Lake Van, is related to a large volcanic eruption and the blocking of the water discharge to Murat River by the lava flow. The most detailed work on the subject was the doctoral thesis of the English scientist Felix Oswald, "A Treatise on the Geology of Armenia", which devotes a large part to Nemrut. Oswald made and documented