Giulio Molinari surprised Jan Frodeno and Sebastian Kienle, and likely most onlookers with a monster bike effort and a subsequent big win at the 2nd annual Cannes International Triathlon. Leanda Cave was first out of the water and grabbed the women's title on the French Riviera with a superb effort in every discipline.
Jan Frodeno and Frederic Belaubre took charge during the swim but could not shake several other pros. Among them were Giulio Molinari, Faris Al-Sultan and Romain Guillaume. Ironman World Champion Sebastian Kienle came out of the water just about 4 minutes behind the swim leaders.
At the front of the race Romain Guillaume pushed hard but it was Molinari who got a gap and pulled steadily away on the very long climb to Saint-Vallier. Molinari knew the course well as he had finished second here in the inaugural edition. Guillaume rode well too, but had no answer for the Italian and crested the mountain in 2nd place about 3:30 later. Frodeno arrived at the top about 4 minutes behind the leader, and Kienle who was moving up through the field the magic number was a surprising and likely depressing 6 minutes behind Molinari. Not much changed on the way back to T2 in Nice and thus Molinari had a nice cushion as he started the run.
Frodeno managed to catch Guillaume and get closer to the fast Italian, but in the end there just was not enough time or distance to challenge Molinari for the win. Molinari crossed the line first in 3:46:33 and thus added a fine win to his resume that includes the title at Challenge Paguera-Mallorca, a race that served as the ETU European middle distance championships. Earlier this year Molinari competed in the inaugural Challenge Dubai and ended up in 24th place with a 2:10 bike split.
“I’m happy I competed last year as that has given me the necessary insight for today’s race. I particularly relished the bike course. I didn’t think I’d be able to open up such a lead ahead of my German rivals. During the run I just had to make sure I didn’t overcook it and make the finish,” said Molinari.
Frodeno was next to finish in 3:48:09 and Kienle ran past Guillaume to take the final podium spot.
The women
Leanda Cave started her day with a solid swim that give her an approximate 15 second advantage going into T1.
During the challenging 80 km bike course Cave extended that advantage to 3.5 minutes by the time she reached the bike-run transition.
After that Cave held that advantage and came across the finish first in 4:18:42 and thus with a nice early season win to her name. Belgian Athlete Alexandra Tondeur finished second and Vanessa Raw third. Defending champion Charlotte Morel from France had to settle for fourth place.
“What a great race! It was well organized and the location was beautiful. The bike course was one of the hardest I have ever done and I am so thrilled to have pulled off a win since I have done 100% of my training on the flat roads of Miami. This gives me a lot of confidence for my next race - Ironman Texas,” said Leanda Cave to Slowtwitch.
Cannes International Triathlon
Cannes, France / April 19, 2015
2km swim / 80km bike / 16km run
Top men
1. Giulio Molinari (ITA) 3:46:33
2. Jan Fodeno (GER) 3:48:09
3. Sebastian Kienle (GER) 3:51:15
4. Romain Guillaume (FRA) 3:53:01
5. Hervé Banti (FRA) 3:54:20
Top women
1. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:18:42
2. Alexandra Tondeur (BEL) 4:22:20
3. Vanessa Raw (GBR) 4:25:16
4. Charlotte Morel (FRA) 4:26:28
5. Michelle Vesterby (DEN) 4:30:48
Both race images courtesy and © T.Deketelaere/Triathlète Mag
