SYDNEY, Jan 14, 2010 (AFP) – Cycling superstar Lance Armstrong pledged 250,000 US dollars for victims of the Haiti earthquake on Thursday and urged the public to come forward with further donations.

Armstrong, visiting Australia for next week’s Tour Down Under, said the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which left more than 100,000 feared dead, was “devastating” for the impoverished Caribbean country.

“Over the years with political turmoil, poverty and now the earthquake it’s devastating,” he told reporters.

“On behalf of Livestrong (Armstrong’s cancer charity) we’ll be donating 250,000 dollars to several organizations that are doing a lot of work down there, one of which is the Clinton Foundation.”

The foundation was set up by former US president Bill Clinton, focusing on worldwide issues that demand urgent action.

“This is really when the global community has to step up and recognize that we’re very fortunate and sometimes we have to reach out,” Armstrong said.

The 38-year-old cancer survivor came back from retirement at the 2009 Tour Down Under and will seek his eighth Tour de France title later this year.

File Photo by: CorVos Pro