“Tri4japan is the charity established to help the people of Kamaishi, a town in Japan devastated by the recent earthquake and tsunami. All funds raised will be put to work to make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Make a donation or buy a T-Shirt

Taken directly from http://www.tri4japan.com

TYR Sport Inc. will be Chrabot’s primary competitive apparel and swimwear sponsor through the next Olympic Games in London. TYR’s experience and unsurpassed technology in the popular sport of triathlon will supply critical product support to Chrabot, who is training to make his first Olympic Team. Chrabot joins an elite group of talented athletes sponsored by TYR, who plans to make Chrabot the new face of their Olympic marketing campaign.

“I’m very excited to be part of the TYR family,” stated Chrabot, a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. “TYR has been around since I started swimming as a young athlete in the 1980’s and I’ve always been impressed with their suits and performance technology. I am fortunate to have TYR’s support leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

Ending his 2010 season ranked No.1 in the U.S. and No.12 in the world, Chrabot, 27, established himself as the American man to beat for a 2012 Olympic berth. Chrabot earned two top 10 finishes at World Championship Series events, won his second Pan American Championships title and was the Miami International champion, a title he hopes to defend later this month. Chrabot is gearing up for the first Olympic qualifier, taking place this August at the World Championship Series stop in London.

“We are very happy to have formed a long-term relationship with an athlete of such high caliber as Matt Chrabot.” stated Ryan Dolan, Vice President of Sales for TYR Sport Inc.. “Matt is well-known for his work ethic and willingness to do what it takes to be the best and win races. We look forward to our push to London 2012 with Matt and USAT.”

Chrabot, who is represented by global sports and entertainment marketing leader Octagon, recently finalized endorsement deals with Shimano, PowerBar, Dz-nuts and Yurbuds and is also sponsored by Blue Cycles and Rudy Project.

There are rumours that Lance Armstrong may have adopted a Twitter alter-ego as he prepares for a season racing triathlon. Over the last few days, a prolific Tweeter called @juanpelota has given people reason to believe he is the Tour de France legend, with repeated references to – and banter with – Lance’s training partner Jimmy Riccitello.

@juanpelota’s profile on the social media network reveals: “Grew up idolizing The Big 4. They used to call me Junior. Retired. Raisin’ 5 kids. I swim, I bike, I run. I travel. I fight cancer. And I like cold beer.”

The name Juan Pelota can easily be linked back to Armstrong. It is the name of the café inside Austin-based Mellow Johnny’s bicycle store, which is owned by Armstrong. The name is said to originate from the surgery Armstrong had for testicular cancer. The term “Juan” represents one, while “Pelota” is Spanish for ball.

Obviously, until Lance himself confirms that he is the man behind @juanpelota then it’s impossible to say unequivocally that this is the case. But if it is an imposter then they are doing a good job of pulling the wool over a lot of peoples’ eyes – Lance’s friends included!

Taken from http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/

Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) made history as he crossed the line in Geelong, Australia, more than a minute quicker than his nearest rival with four fingers in the air. The Swiss rider became the first to claim four titles in the elite men’s time trial category.

Cancellara was simply too good for his rivals, despite a strong ride from Great Britain’s David Millar. The only threat to a Cancellara victory came when the rider nearly clipped a barrier and had his rhythm upset as a result during his second lap.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “It feels amazing and it was maybe the hardest one because before I didn’t know about my condition. At the end I focussed on my own race and tried to do what I can. I’m happy.

“I didn’t touch it but every second counts, so I tried to be close without falling because that’s the last thing I want,” he added.

Millar took second place by 10 seconds from Tony Martin (Germany), who amazingly secured bronze despite having to stop for a wheel change. Martin’s mid-race mechanical setup a close battle between he and Richie Porte (Australia) for the final medal position.

Bronze would have made Porte the only Australian to have claimed a time trial medal besides Michael Rogers (Australia), who finished the event in fifth place. Rogers held the top time for the closing phase of the race, having started one group earlier than the favourites. Despite Koos Moerenhout (Netherlands) and David Zabriskie (United States Of America) putting pressure on Rogers’ time in the early stages of their runs, both riders faded to finish sixth and eight respectively.

By: Greg Johnson

Taken from www.cyclingnews.com.

Results

In the 4 meetings between the sides Mexico hold a 2-1 win lead over South Africa, however in their most recent meeting in the 2005 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Gold Cup, South Africa beat Mexico by 2 goals to 1.

South Africa’s strengths lie in their pace on the flanks. The likes of Siphiwe Tshabala and Tsholofelo Modise can make the difference on the outside for Bafana Bafana. Steven Pienaar in midfield for South Africa is going to the man to watch. His key battle with veteran defender Rafael Marquez is probably the most significant. Second to that would be Aaron Moekena and Carlos Vela’s battle. The South African captain is a strong defender but will have his hands full with the young Mexican striker who, on his day, can play impeccable football.

Mexico are slight favourites to win this encounter based on their fast paced play and their super experienced back line, but I’ve got a feeling that Bafana Bafana might just be able to sneak a win. Having put 5 past Guatemala without conceding and beating Denmark 1-0, Bafana Bafana are fired up and stand a good chance of getting an emphatic victory sending this rainbow nation into a Vuvuzela frenzy!

July saw global income turn positive as well as global industrial production. Overall output in economy also turned positive.

The ERCI indicators have been very strong since July and this appears to be the start of market recovery.  It will however be a fair while until the economy recovers fully and we will more than likely feel the economic downturn well into the next financial year and perhaps even into the following in some cases.

This recession has been the worst for South Africa in 17 years. Seasonally adjusted GDP shrank by 3.0 percent in the second quarter as compared to 6.4 percent in the first quarter.

The recovery of South Africa’s economy will however lag others, after several developed countries saw second quarter growth.

Labour market conditions are not showing signs of improvement yet and remain fragile. Unemployment is still a major risk. South Africa’s unemployment rate ticked up to 23.6% in the second quarter of 2009 which stands as testament to South Africa’s lagging recovery.

Recovery is not yet established and market conditions are still vulnerable. “Conditions for a sustained recovery, led by private demand, are not yet fully established.” said US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.  In another statement he said that global economic growth was “under way”, but there remains “significant challenges” ahead.

It appears that although economic upswing is on the cards many remain cautious.  In a communiqué released from G20 finance ministers in London 10 October this caution is clear to see.

“We will continue to implement decisively our necessary financial support measures and expansionary monetary and fiscal policies… until recovery is secured.”

Recovery can only be secured in one way say some. In order to speed up economic recovery lending activity has to pick up between businesses and banks. They reason that this will encourage enterprise spending which will lead to an increase in employment. That in turn will then drive retail sales. And so the begin of the global economic recovery.