Duncan Hawkins and Colette Kitterhing competed in the Cannes International Triathlon on Sunday – after have such a great time competing in last year’s race it’s become a firm fixture in their annual race schedule. Now in its 3rd year the field for the middle distance race,consisting of a 1km sea swim, 53k ride & 8k run (turned out to be 9.2k), has grown to 1000. They would both recommend it to anyone looking for an early season challenge:  the location is stunning, road surfaces lovely and smooth, with enthusiastic marshals and police stopping traffic to ensure competitors right of way at every junction and roundabout. With a palm tree lined run right by the beach, what more could you want?

‘I’m not used to mass beach starts and got caught in a lot of congestion from the off. Frustratingly I couldn’t find any space until about 600m which cost me perhaps two minutes, eventually exiting in 18mins.  The 53k bike was a dream, loved every minute. Steady but challenging climbs and great fun fast descents. I was passed by 3 ladies and passed about 8; for the last 20km a group of 3 of us played cat and mouse which kept me pushing. Whilst shouts of “Les filles, Bon courage, Allez Allez” from spectators and other male competitors broadened my smile.

Then on to the run, two laps up and down La Croisette, the three ladies I had been vying with on the ride had inched ahead of me as we came back in to Cannes but I managed to pass them all within the first 2k of the run, but the ride had taken its toll on my legs and I was tiring. I managed to hold my pace to what should have been the end but the surprise of what turned out to be an extra 1.2k on the course nearly broke me.

Crossing the line at 2:44:46 I was exhausted, nothing left in the tank.

1st female vet (40+), 8th female overall – a good morning’s racing. ‘

‘”Come and race Cannes,” I say to everyone, why? Because it’s delightful in Spring, about 6 weeks ahead of us, so for just a short flight from LHR it’s lovely and warm and sunny, the sea is a pleasant 16c and the Alpes-Maritimes’ hills pose a super challenge with beautiful views.

The race: the dance tunes banging out on the beach quickly faded as 1000 of us mainly seasoned triathletes flung ourselves into the clear Cannes water. I took a look back to see Colette and I were parted even before taking the plunge, any hopes of a civilised synchronised side-by-side swim like last year was out of the question. I saw a gap and took my moment. Until 550m at the third buoy it was incredibly physical, we’d got stuck a little further back on the beach than we’d have liked so it was a case of powering on through (people).  Exhilarating, exiting the water around 60th.

The French love a Sac transition, actually quite a sensible way of doing it, it was a first time and went very well, if not annoying that I couldn’t get some Rack transition practice in prior to qualifiers.

The ride; well how do we put it.. Unsurprisingly the French are bloody good cyclists with their all year climate and long hard climbs on tap.. There’s the excuse out the way. For the 10-20 I passed in the first 15k, I must have succumbed to 40-50 on the mid-gradients before the main climb where I held my own. Picking off about 10 again on the mega fast descents back into Cannes I felt happy I’d just saved enough for a hottish run pace.

The run; it’s a cool route with super energetic crowds, sure helps 2hrs in. With a good lap band system it’s easy to suss out who infront and behind are the competition, I’d had a great run last year but with good off-season progress I was keen to step it up. I ran off intuition not watch data, taking a first glance at 6.75k as I’d been pacing with a strong local club runner; the pace was hot @ 3:48/km. I’d passed 10 in my race but didn’t have another gear to bolt for the last km home; lucky because with the final distance being 9.2k not 8k, a 2.2km bolt for home would have killed me!

2:31 finish time 56th in the 18-39 male category, 78th overall.

A small improvement over 2015 place wise, albeit with a 50% larger field, but huge gains on ride and run performance. Rock on 2016.’