Fagan and Cullen lead depleted Irish assault on Madrid

MARTIN FAGAN and Mary Cullen are named in the Irish senior teams for the European cross-country championships in Toro, near Madrid, on Sunday week.

Last Friday they finished second in the famous Thanksgiving Day Manchester Road Race in the US.

Fagan, preparing for a shot at Olympic qualification at the Houston Marathon in January, fought out a thriller with the Australian, Andrew Letherby, over the 4.7 mile course before losing by just one second in 21 mins 55 secs.