LA PLAGNE, FRANCE — Team USA made its debut appearance in the 2023/2024 IBSF World Cup this week in the French Alps.

Events kicked off this past Friday with skeleton races. On the women’s side, Mystique Ro placed second overall in her second World Cup race of her career. Her final time after two heats was 2 minutes, 5.20 seconds. Sara Roderick also represented Team USA in this event, coming in 17th with a combined time of 2:06.36.

“Mystique really broke out today on the World Cup scene,” Team USA’s Head skeleton coach Matt Antione said. “There were some tough training runs this week for her but she continued to work through the track. She always brings it at the start which immediately gives you a step up on the competition. She had her absolute two best runs of the week to pair with her starts, and I couldn’t be happier for her result today.”

Also, on Friday, Austin Florian and Dan Barefoot competed in the men’s skeleton event, placing 15th and 17th with times of 2:02.63 and 2:02.67, respectively.

The following day brought another day of remarkable sliding for the USA. In women’s monobob, Kaysha Love placed first overall in her debut monobob World Cup race. With a two-run time of 2:07.92, she set a new start record and track record. Elana Meyers Taylor also had a good day, placing fourth with a time of 2:08.23.

“My World Cup debut as a pilot couldn’t have been any more memorable,” Love said. “I’m incredibly grateful for the village that’s helped me during this challenging journey of transitioning from brakeman to pilot. So excited to keep learning and representing Team USA throughout the season.”

Also on Saturday, Frank Del Duca and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor placed in the top six for two-man bobsled, earning a fourth-place finish with their finish time of 1:59.08.

Sunday’s sliding action started with Meyers Taylor and Emily Renna winning bronze in two-woman bobsled with a time of 2:02.46.

“I am happy about mine and Emily’s performance,” Meyers Taylor said. “The brakemen have an increased workload as I continue to get in shape coming off of pregnancy and with my increased demands off the track and they all did great to help out. Emily was a rockstar and gave me everything she had.”

“It was so great to be back racing on the World Cup circuit, on a new track for me in France, and getting an opportunity to race with Elana,” Renna said. “I’m really happy with what we have put together this weekend and am excited to see how the season progresses for us.”

Also in two-woman, Love and Azaria Hill placed fourth with a time of 2:02.55. In four-man, Frank Del Duca, Josh Williamson, Manteo Mitchell and Darius Joseph had a one-run time of 58.80 but did not complete their second run.

Back on American soil, the Park City Leg of the North American Cup kicked off in Park City, Utah on Saturday. Katie Uhlaender slid into a first-place finish with a time of 1:40.05, and Logan Wudi placed fifth with a time of 1:42.94 on first day of the NAC women’s skeleton.

In men’s skeleton, Bradley Nicol (1:39.50) placed fourth, Noah Park (1:41.78) was 10th, Sam Allred (1:41.96) earned 11th, Darryl Payne (1:42.49) secured 12th, Baden Park (1:42.56) took 13th and Andrew Whittier-Neises (1:43.61) finished in 17th.

NAC Races will continue in Park City, Utah this week through Wednesday. In the World Cup circuit, races will resume in Innsbruck, Austria on Friday.