The following year he won the Spanish cross country championships and ran in the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing just outside the top thirty. He also competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics but he failed to make the 5000 m final. Despite this setback, the year turned out to be his breakthrough season as he won the men's senior 10 km race at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships. He fought off former champions Serhiy Lebid and Mo Farah, and went on to become the first Spanish champion in the history of the competition.