Team USA won the mixed relay event in Huatulco

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USA Triathlon Weekend Notebook: Huatulco, Besancon and Knibb adds pro cycling to resume

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by USA Triathlon

Weekend racing was loaded up with Team USA success stories as we collected podiums across multiple events. With the summer solstice taking place this week, peak racing season is here and it's bringing the heat when it comes to the elites and of course local events across the nation.

This past weekend, our U.S. elites were in Mexico and France snagging some hardware, so let's take a look at all that we missed.

2023 World Triathlon Cup Huatulco

Huatulco, Mexico is a quaint little coastal gem in the Oaxaca region. It's not overly packed with tourists, so it's a perfect hidden piece of paradise to enjoy the Pacific. However, it has a rich history of hosting World Triathlon Cups and has infamously been awarded as the destination to test out your heat training, because boy is it a hot one!

This weekend was no different, with temperatures hitting the mid-80s. Plus, the sprint-distance course offers some pretty hefty hills, ultimately Huatulco is no joke!

In the women's field, Gwen Jorgensen snagged the first medal for the U.S. She earned the silver, crossing the line less than a minute behind the winner. This medal was significant for Jorgensen and her return back to tri racing. It was her first World Cup podium since 2016, which was her final racing season before she ultimately took a break from the sport to pursue other endurance racing. Now, seven years later she's back!

Gina Sereno also had a great race performance, finishing 10th overall, which is only her second-ever top-10 finish in a World Cup race.

Katie Zaferes finished 13th.

After the individual races, Sunday saw the Mixed Relay event take place. The U.S team, made up of Jorgensen, Zaferes, Darr Smith and Brent Demarest pulled off the victory, meaning Team USA left Mexico with two podiums.

2023 World Triathlon Para Cup Besancon

Across the pond, a sole U.S. elite woman represented the U.S. in Besancon, France in the World Triathlon Para Cup.

Grace Norman competed as the only woman on the starting list for the U.S. in the PTS5 sport category.

And representing she did as she took home the gold, beating out Brit and friendly rival Lauren Steadman by nearly a minute.

Other elite news!

In other news, there was some big news coming out of the tri world this weekend and it had nothing to do with triathlon! The great thing about multisport is just that, its a multi sport. Meaning there are lots of opportunities for athletes to engage and pursue events and racing in each of the singular disciplines.

That's the cause with elite Taylor Knibb. She announced that she is joining Team Trek-Segafredo and will be doing some pro cycling races this season.

But don't worry! She will still be racing the triathlon scene, we will just have more chances to see Knibb's big skills!

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