The ITU Triathlon World Cup Series returns to Mexico for the second time in 2011, with the always sunny Huatulco hosting the sixth World Cup event this year.
It's an exciting year for triathlon in Mexico with both World Cup events and the Pan American Games, with the triathlon event in Puerto Vallarta, later this month.
The holiday hotspot of Huatulco, in southern Oaxaca has been a World Cup event since 2008 and there are two of the men's previous champions in this year's field, inaugural champion Kris Gemmell and 2009 winner Matt Chrabot. But they will face a big challenge from Portugal's Joao Silva, who was unstoppable in the final 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon Series event in Yokohama just a few weeks ago.
In the women's race, with two-time defending champion Ai Ueda out the field might be a little more open - except that the most successful athlete in ITU World Cup history is back. Vanessa Fernandes (POR) ended her 12-month break from triathlon in Yokohama, and now returns to the series where she's had so much success. Read the full preview here.
About the race: Huatulco is celebrating its fourth straight year on the ITU World Cup calendar and its quickly become an athlete favourite thanks to its scenic but tough course. In its first year, Kiwis swept the podium thanks to Kris Gemmell and Samantha Warriner. In 2009 Matt Chrabot (USA) and Ai Ueda (JPN) both claimed their first ITU World Cup wins here. In 2010, Ueda defended her title while the eventual 2010 ITU World Champion Javier Gomez (ESP) took out the men's race.
