"I'm still in the contract hunt," the 30-year-old US rider said before the start of stage 3 at the Tour of Alberta in Canada. "It's a tough year. It's nice to see things like [Formula 1 star Fernando] Alonso coming in and salvaging a team, but there's a lot of talk of a few teams folding and a lot of teams shrinking. So that certainly puts a lot of people out on the market."
King has proved himself a valuable domestique during his three years with Cannondale and its predecessor, Liquigas; he is often seen on the front of the peloton chasing down breakaways to set up teammate Peter Sagan for the bunch sprint. King started his pro career in 2008 with Bissell Pro Cycling before moving to the Cervelo Test Team for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He moved to Liquigas in 2011.
King has ridden three Grand Tours, including this year's Tour de France, where he famously was time cut from the race after the stage 4 team time trial because injuries suffered on stage 1 prevented him from keeping pace with his team. King was five seconds short of making the cut, but the commissaires showed no mercy and cut him from the race just as his family arrived in France to watch him compete in the French race for the first time.
The rider from New Hampshire said he has "not heard much" from Cannondale about next year, but he appeared confident he will find a team for 2014.
"I have the right people working for me to find me a contract for next year," he said. "But as of now, no."
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Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in his first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon and has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his imaginary dog Rusty.
