Q&A: Ben King looks forward to his debut Tour de France

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Ben King (Garmin-Sharp)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

For first-time Tour de France competitors like Ben King, who will line up with Garmin-Sharp for the start in Leeds on Saturday, the time leading up to the race can be a mix of excitement and terror. But the 25-year-old from Virginia told Cyclingnews he's had a single-minded focus on the race since November, and he's confident in his preparation for stepping onto cycling's biggest stage.

The Garmin roster will be missing a few names that have featured prominently on its Tour de France squads for the past several years. David Millar, who has raced every Tour with Garmin since 2008, vented his frustrations publicly when he was cut from the roster following illness and a lackluster performance at the British national championships, where he dropped out of both the time trial and road race. For the 37-year-old, who has already announced that this will be his final season, losing the opportunity to start his 13th-and-final Tour in his home country was a crushing blow.

Instead, King will join Janier Acevedo, Jack Bauer, Alex Howes, Sebastian Langeveld, Ramunas Navardauskas, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Andrew Talansky and Johan Vansummeren for the start in Leeds. The average age of the team riders is 27, and only Vansummeren, 33, is older than 29. The race will be the first Grand Tour for King and Acevedo, and four of the Garmin riders will be competing in the Tour de France for the first time.

Team CEO Jonathan Vaughters said the squad had been picked around Talansky's general classification hopes following the 25-year-old's win last month at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Along with teammates Talansky and 26-year-old Howes, King is part of a new generation of US riders moving into the world's biggest races, and the Garmin roster as a whole appears to be a generational shift for the US WorldTour team as it approaches the end of its first decade.

King: It is a dream to race the Tour. I've always measured my progress by setting challenging but achievable goals and each year I've shown improvement. I have been aiming at a Grand Tour for the past three years and thought I would start with the Giro or Vuelta, but the Tour wasn't even on my radar until the directors sat me down in November and told me to make that my goal. Since then I've been focused with a single mind on building up for this. The faith team Garmin-Sharp has put in me is such an honor and so humbling. I'd say I'm speechless, but this interview will prove otherwise! There is so much going on in my head right now.

King: As I said, Garmin has put a lot of faith in me and has scheduled a dream race program for me. The races I've done suit me and I always have clear objectives. I learned a lot from the older riders you mentioned on Trek. It's great to see Matthew Busche also earning a spot on their Tour team. I can't speculate on where I'd be if I were on a different team this year, but I have shown improvement and have raced with more confidence this season. I'm thankful to the staff and my teammates on Garmin-Sharp who've made it possible to step up, and I can't help feeling after just six months with them that it's just the beginning.

King: In 2010 I raced along side Talansky and Alex Howes at the Tour de l'Avenir (the tour of the future) where Talansky placed second to Nairo Quintana. I remember our director there, Pat Jonker, driving us around France telling stories from the glory days, "one day you'll be racing over these climbs in the Tour." I also remember thinking, "yeah right, Pat." But it raised my adrenaline the way he talked about it.

Howes and I have pushed each other throughout our careers taking turns winning U23 nationals and we set the bar high for each other. Talansky lived in Lucca for the first years of my Euro career. We trained together and have become good friends. Even guys like Navardauskus and Slagter are familiar from racing the U23 circuit. It's surreal heading into the Tour de France as their teammates. There's certainly a youthful enthusiasm on the team but also a camaraderie within the team that will make it an even greater adventure.

King: I think it's no secret that we have a GC contender with Talansky. Maybe still an outsider but how could I not get behind that? To have somebody up on GC makes it possible to go extra deep every day. It gives the suffering a purpose beyond surviving. I'm excited to be a part of that. And, who knows? Maybe one stage that will involve getting up the road in a breakaway or maybe we'll be in a position to control the race. It's impossible to say now, but I'm all in for the team. Oh, I was also told that my "positive attitude can be an asset for the team when the going gets tough"... I hope I'm still smiling after 2 weeks!

King: As if I needed extra motivation! It's incredible. Like I said before, we are all friends on the team. I couldn't push harder for Talansky or Howes just because they are American than I could for Slagter or Acevedo. We all depend on each other. It's a team sport unlike any other. But there is a certain amount of pride associated with representing the USA on the grandest stage for cycling in the world and on an American team.

King: I am excited, terrified, hungry, all of the above. I will look to my teammates and the directors for practical advice and support, and when the race starts focus on my job. Positive self talk does nothing for me once a race is underway. I know what I'm supposed to do and either do it or do not. Before a race my mind works over different scenarios and the appropriate responses. For example, if I'm supposed to go in the breakaway, I calculate which riders will be attacking, which teams to watch, and try to determine the atmosphere in the peloton to gauge how long it will take for the break to establish.

Wondering whether I can do what's asked of me only allows my nerves to get the better of me. The days leading in are the most nervous. The familiarity of pedaling always calms me down. I'm confident in my training. I'm the best that I can be. Of course, there is tremendous pressure, but my faith, family, friends, and team keep me level. It's great to be so excited about something so I will try to soak in everything.

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.