A new King crowned in Greenville
21-year-old Ben King seals Trek-Livestrong title sweep
Ben King (Trek-Livestrong) became the first Under 23 rider to capture the professional road title when he won the USA Cycling Pro Championship road race in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday.
The 21-year-old, who spent nearly half the race off the front alone, held a gap in excess of two minutes over a small bunch that was fighting for second, the sprint for which was won by Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefit Strategies), followed by Kiel Reijnen (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda).
"I just got permission to announce that I will be riding for RadioShack next year," said King. "I'm sure winning this race will help a lot with my future. One of the things that kept me going in the final circuits was having Allen Lim and Jose Azevedo in the team car come up to me.
"I was trying to find all the motivation to keep going. It doesn't seem like it was worth it when you are hurting that bad but Lim kept yelling, 'you are making history, this is huge'. When I was on the podium I started to realise that I don't even have to shave yet."
King started the day in an early move that gained a maximum of 17 minutes on the field and included USPro Criterium Champion Daniel Holloway (Bissell) and Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategy). He attacked his breakaway companions over the circuit's Paris Mountain ascent on the third of four large laps and maintained a three-minute margin over the field during the final three short circuits.
"Once I was solo and still had nine minutes a lot of things were going through my mind and a lot of different motivators," King said. "My Dad [Mark] and sister [Hanna] were out on the course so I was thinking about that. I started praying pretty hard after Paris Mountain and onto the circuits and I think my prayers were answered."
A small, 25-rider field entered the short finishing circuits led predominantly by team BMC Racing riding for defending champion George Hincapie. The team received help from Garmin-Transitions and Kelly Benefit Strategies. Carter Jones (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda) launched an attack at the start of the first circuit but was brought back by the mad chase a few kilometres later. Chris Baldwin (UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis) counter attacked but he too was quickly reeled back in.
"I was able to not get dropped too much on the last time up Paris Mountain and I made it back up to the group," said Candelario. "I still had Neil Shirley there and he did what he could to help BMC try and bring Ben back but we couldn't.
"Andrew Bajadali got second last year to Hincapie and that was a phenomenal ride and unfortunately we were missing him today. We came here wanting to win but that is the way it goes. I got second today which is a good ride for the team. It is always nice to get on the podium."
King entered the road race having already won both the USA Cycling Under 23 Road and Criterium Championships held in Bend, Oregon in June.
Lax chase leads to lengthy breakaway
Some 80 of the nation's top professional riders lined up on Main St in downtown Greenville, South Carolina to contest the 180km championship event. The course offered three short 6.6km circuits where an early breakaway set sail that included King (Trek-Livestrong), Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly p/b Kenda), Scott Zwizanksi (Kelly Benefit Strategies), Dan Holloway (Bissell) and Thomas Brown (Mountain Khakis p/b Jittery Joes).
The peloton was content to let the quintet gain time because the chances of staying away were low considering the four long laps that included the steep Paris Mountain ascent. The breakaway was reduced to three when Van Ulden, who placed third at the previous day's USA Cycling Pro Time Trial Championships behind winner Taylor Phinney (Trek-Livestrong) and Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) fell off the pace, followed by Brown.
King, Zwizanski and Holloway's efforts were successful in gaining a hefty 10-minute advantage as they exited the three small opening circuits onto the first of four larger 36.2km laps. They approached the first climb over Paris Mountain where large crowds celebrated the fifth annual event.
Temperatures approached a sweltering and uncomfortable 90 degrees Fahrenheit by the time the riders started their initial ascent over Paris Mountain. They could afford to ease up slightly and stay together over the top of the climb with a comfortable 16-minute lead.
The peloton settled into a slow pace and each team looked at the other to chase. It became apparent that RadioShack was not interested in chasing King. Furthermore, UnitedHealthcare p/b Maxxis announced that it has signed Zwizanski for next season and reasonable to conclude that it had a vested interest in him winning the national road title.
The gap was reduced to 15 minutes for the second time over Paris Mountain as Holloway waved to the crowds for some motivational cheers when they went through the start-finish line for the start of the third lap, the halfway point of the race.
BMC Racing was responsible for initiating a mid-race chase and it rallied help from Garmin-Transitions, Kenda-Geargrinder and Jelly Belly p/b Kenda. The concerted effort of the chasers in the peloton brought the gap to the breakaway down to 12 minutes.
"Sometimes the smaller teams will bank on the bigger teams taking control of the race but that didn't happen today," said Reijnen. "That was the risk we took. Initially the gap soared but the field wasn't moving. We put in a couple of guys to try to motivate the field but RadioShack, BMC and Garmin didn't seem interested in the breakaway. By the time they did it was too late. Ben King had a great ride."
The final dig over Paris Mountain
King launched a solo attack and opened up a 45-second advantage the third time over Paris Mountain, leaving his two breakaway companions behind. All eyes were on King to pull off a third national title, this time in the professional category on the streets of Greenville.
The solo rider delivered a brilliant effort to try and maintain as much of a gap as possible before the start of the last lap, where a series of attacks were expected.
"I'm pretty self-motivated and when I got out there at the beginning I wasn't thinking that I was going to win," King said. "I was joking around on the course and then thought I better start getting serious. I was thinking that if I could be up there at the front, when the selection was made from behind I would still be there to help Taylor of some of the RadioShack guys if I could."
Matthew Busche (RadioShack) played his card on Paris Mountain where he attacked the peloton. However, his efforts were short lived and he was reeled back in before the start of the fourth and final large lap.
King rolled through the start-finish line with a 9:25-minute lead over the chasing group. Zwizanski and Holloway conceded defeat as the chasing peloton started the last lap with a gap of less than three minutes to the young man up the road.
"I made it over Paris Mountain and I figured if I made it this far now I'll make it to the circuits," King said. "On the circuits it was all just guts."
The gap began to drop drastically when Tim Duggan (Garmin-Transitions) led the pursuit with the BCM Racing team tucked in behind him on Paris Mountain. Hincapie attacked out of the chase group with Reijnen and Levi Leipheimer in tow.
"I wanted it to be aggressive and there were attacks at the bottom," Hincapie said. "I was patient and then went full gas the last kilometre or 800 metres. Kiel Reijnen and Levi came with me. We had 40 seconds right away and took out a bunch of time on King. But Levi said he couldn't work because King was up the road.
"Kiel and I went full gas but the group behind really wanted to catch us. They caught us and at that point it was over. The BMC Racing Team couldn't do all the work. Unfortunately, not all the work was being shared equally among the teams left in the end."
The threatening chase group muscled around the backside of the circuit in pursuit of King and more importantly the stars and stripes jersey. Their efforts were also short lived and, with the exception of King, the field started the final circuits intact.
Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Benjamin King (USA) Trek Livestrong U23 | 4:44:56 |
2 | Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | 0:01:34 |
3 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | 0:01:35 |
4 | Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Shawn Milne (USA) Team Type 1 | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Matthew Busche (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Taylor Phinney (USA) Trek Livestrong U23 | 0:01:36 |
9 | Andy Guptill (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home | 0:01:39 |
10 | Craig Lewis (USA) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Lucas Euser (USA) Spidertech powered by Planet Energy | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Jacob Rytlewski (USA) Kenda p/b Gear Grinder | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Scott Stewart (USA) Team Type 1 | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Chris Baldwin (USA) United Healthcare pb Maxxis | 0:01:40 |
16 | Maxim Jenkins (USA) United Healthcare pb Maxxis | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Neil Shirley (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Jason Mccartney (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Transitions | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack | 0:01:41 |
21 | Carter Jones (USA) Jelly Belly presented by Kenda | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Christopher Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Chris Jones (USA) Team Type 1 | 0:01:54 |
24 | Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin - Transitions | 0:04:37 |
25 | Oscar Clark (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | 0:08:10 |
26 | Tim Farnham (USA) Adageo Energy | 0:08:14 |
27 | Joey Rosskopf (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell | 0:08:16 |
29 | Ted King (USA) Cervelo TestTeam | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Tyler Wren (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Adrian Hegevary (USA) United Healthcare pb Maxxis | 0:08:17 |
32 | Frank Pipp (USA) Bissell | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Paul Mach (USA) Bissell | 0:09:03 |
34 | Philip Gaimon (USA) Kenda pb Geargrinder | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Matthew Cooke (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Jesse Anthony (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | 0:10:26 |
37 | James Driscoll (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home | 0:12:06 |
38 | Bradley White (USA) United Healthcare pb Maxxis | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Phil Zajicek (USA) Fly V Australia | 0:12:07 |
41 | Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Transitions | 0:14:02 |
42 | Morgan Schmitt (USA) United Healthcare pb Maxxis | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Ian Boswell (USA) Bissell | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Jeremy Powers (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chad Beyer (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bjorn Selander (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Steven Cozza (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Caleb Fairly (USA) Garmin-Transitions | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniel Holloway (USA) Bissell | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cody O'Reilly (USA) Bissell | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kyle Wamsley (USA) Bissell | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Williams (USA) Bissell | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nicholas Frey (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home pb Colavita | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jackie Simes (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home pb Colavita | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Frank Travieso (USA) Jamis - Sutter Home pb Colavita | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sergio Hernandez (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Brad Huff (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sean Mazich (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bernard Van Ulden (USA) Jelly Belly p/b Kenda | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dan Bowman (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Guy East (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Reid Mumford (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Scott Zwizanski (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Robert Bush (USA) Kenda p/b Gear Grinder | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Monteleone (USA) Kenda p/b Gear Grinder | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nicholas Waite (USA) Kenda p/b Gear Grinder | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Scottie Weiss (USA) Kenda p/b Gear Grinder | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrew Baker (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Brown (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mark Hekman (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | William Hoffarth (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eric Schildge (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Scott Tietzel (USA) Mountain Khakis fueled by Jittery Joes | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alex Bowden (USA) Team Type 1 | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | William Dugan (USA) Team Type 1 | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ken Hanson (USA) Team Type 1 | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Eric Bennett (USA) Adageo Energy | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Adam Carr (USA) Adageo Energy | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
'Get back on your feet, then on the bike' - Marta Cavalli to restart her career with DSM-Firmenich PostNL
Italian climber hopes to recover to best form after two injury-hit seasons as FDJ-Suez -
Alberto Bettiol – 'I want to race the 2025 Giro d'Italia in the national champion's jersey'
Astana Qazaqstan all-rounder keen to make a return to home Grand Tour in 2025 -
The best cycling jacket on the market will be banned next year, but for now you can get it with a big discount for Black Friday
The Rapha Pro Team Gore-Tex jacket is our top rated waterproof jacket for road cycling and it has a huge $81 saving -
'Collateral damage' - What impact could Donald Trump’s tariffs have on the bike industry?
How the newly elected President’s proposed tariffs may affect U.S. bike brands, consumers and the wider industry