The American venue was making its World Cup debut, but similarly to the women’s event yesterday, the swim leg of the triathlon was cancelled due to green algae in the water, a result of Hurricane Irma.

This resulted in a run-bike-run format, which would ultimately take place over a sprint distance, with organisers stepping in to alter the distance due to concerns over heat.

The course would feature a 2.5 kilometre run and 20km bike circuit, before concluding with another 5km run.

Gonzalez would be forced to overcome being handed a 10 second penalty prior to the race, having missed the pre-race briefing, due to his arrival to the United States being delayed.

The Chengdu World Cup winner opted to serve the penalty on the first leg of the event, having begun quickly on the course.

It would prove the correct move, as Gonzalez was well placed heading into the bike section of the event.

The Mexican eventually hit the front of the race as the final run section got underway, ultimately coming through to take victory in a time of 49min and 36sec.

"It was a pretty tough week," said Gonzalez.

"I raced last weekend in Weihai and then was stuck in the Beijing airport, lost my bike in Dallas, got stuck in immigration for two hours and missed the briefing so I got the penalty.

"But I knew all of those things would make me stronger, so I am very glad I was able to use all of that.

"In my head I thought, 'this is just another thing I have to go through' and I just am so happy that I was able to have a good race today."

Gonzalez would win the race by a margin of seven seconds, with Belgium's Marten Van Riel ending as the runner-up in a time of 49:43.

The podium places were completed by Kevin McDowell, as the American triathlete ended a further second behind the Belgian in a tight battle for second place.

Despite missing out on second, McDowell was able to celebrate being crowned national triathlon champion, with the event doubling as the United States' National Championships.