On this day before Thanksgiving we are especially thankful to the handsome triathletes who offered their bodies for the 2014 Men of Triathlon calendar.

An ITU World Triathlon Series race will be held for the first time ever on the African continent and the event in Cape Town, South Africa will join a list of illustrious historic race cities from around the world.

With winter coming, we compare four popular 28mm tires for your training and racing pleasure – Challenge, Michelin, Serfas, and Specialized. Who has the fastest one?

Today we look at the top 15 overall men in Kona on the run and learn more about their weight, height, shoes and final running split for the marathon.

We showcase two Challenge races – one in Thailand and another in Australia, plus another contest on the beautiful island of Mauritius. Plus we noted an intriguing triathlon-related item in the New York Times.

We share our thoughts after spending 6 months on the latest aluminum wheel from Hed, the Ardennes+. With a 25mm-wide rim, they take road clinchers into new territory.

When we bumped into Christoph on a seawall in Kona we planned to feature him as a random age grouper, but in his first Ironman World Championship start he finished in 9:03 and the runner-up spot in M18-24.

We take a bird’s eye look at the anatomy of road and triathlon wheels. What are all of the different parts? What should you look for when making a purchase? For more, read on.

We typically only feature Pro bike galleries, but every now and then the machine of an amateur catches our eye – and here is the BMC TM-01 of Morten Tillquist.

WTC announced 4 European finalists to host the 2015 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Sites in Austria, France, Luxembourg and Norway will vie for the honor to host the first 70.3 Worlds outside North America.

We review the latest disc wheel from Renn Multisport – the 5ive 5ive 5ive. Available in 650 and 700c sizes and both clincher and tubular, this wheel has something for everyone.

World Champion Sven Nys grabbed a narrow win over German national champion Philipp Walsleben at the very muddy Superprestige Gavere Cyclocross race.

Belgian Champion Sanne Cant took the win at the super muddy hansgrohe Superprestige Gavere cyclocross race. Helen Wyman and Nikki Harris finished second and third.

The tri world is talking about 2 powerful races, 2 overcoming runs, by Victor Del Corral. But there was a 30-day stretch during 1992 that might even make Del Corral shake his head.

Why Brett Sutton, the sport’s most successful coach, split with the very successful TeamTBB, his plans launch an alternative triathlon, and where he, his partner and the athletes are headed.

In the Weekend Box of November 17 we look at frantic racing at Ironman Arizona, 70.3 Shepparton in Australia and the curious case of Lance missing in action.

If you like muddy conditions, this 2013 Jaarmarktcross Niel gallery should find you well, and it looks like the Gavere race this weekend will be even muddier.

In this issue of What We Have Noticed we look at the Dimond beam bike, the TomTom GPS watch, the Parlee ESX aero road bike, a Club Ride jersey, and the Bike Spike video.

Ironman World Champion Frederik Van Lierde was invited to the Mavic base with other champions who use Mavic products and we accompanied him.

I got a voice message from WTC’s CEO, Andrew Messick, and it was not business as usual. It was about typhoon Haiyan, and in this case the heart was riding shotgun and EBITDA took a back seat.

This edition of the Mailbag covers two questions. First, why does my GPS show a different distance than the published race course? Next, how much speed can I gain from a new bike?

We review two lights from Serfas. The TSL-550 packs a punch for its price, and the multi-purpose Thunderbolt can be mounted just about anywhere on your bike.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Under Armour acquired MapMyFitness – the brand best known in the running, cycling and triathlon world for the popular MapMyRun and MapMyRide applications.

This weekend 17 ACTIVE Network employees will line up at Ironman Arizona and according to ACTIVE that is the largest corporate starting group in any singular Ironman race.