Despite or But?
Your choice!
Despite
Exemple : ‘’Despite the fact he had trained a lot he didn't win the race.’’
"Despite" and "but" are commonly mixed up. They have the same meaning but are used in different structures. "Despite" can be used both at the start of a sentence and in the middle of it.
But
Exemple : ‘’He trained hard but he didn't win the race.’’
On the other hand "but" cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence.