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King won his pro road title with a long-range attack.

Most riders who have won the U.S. road race championship did so after racing on European-based pro teams. At age 21, Ben King hasn’t yet started that part of his career officially, but he’s looking forward to suiting up for races in his red, white and blue RadioShack jersey in Mallorca next year. VeloNews caught up with King at his parents’ house in Virginia.

“I’ll be a student this (coming) year,” King said of his role with RadioShack. “I have a lot to learn quickly. I want to have a long, consistent professional career. This is a whole other league, and I’m still developing.”

Riding for Trek-Livestrong, King racked up three national titles in 2010, the pinnacle being the U.S. pro road title. But before that he scored wins in both the road and criterium under-23 races. He also doubled up with U23 victories in the Pan-American road and time trial events. He also won the Best Young Rider competition at the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

“Every two to three years since I was a junior on Hot Tubes, I’ve stepped up to another level and have been able to make adjustments,” King said. “Now I’ve reached the top level, and I have years to adjust. Part of that process will be finding a role on the team. At the moment I believe I am geared toward being a support rider, getting in breaks, riding the front.”

King recently did a RadioShack training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the other Americans on the team. The crew included the marquee names Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner as well as the younger riders Matt Busche and Bjorn Selander.

“It was low key because it was just a small group of people,” King said, “We generally did about three hours a day on the bike.”

While the time on the bike may have been reserved, there was racing — and burning rubber — involved in the Arizona camp.

“We got to spend one day at the Nissan test track. That wasn’t as low key,” said King, adding that a number of the riders and staff raced in Nissan 370Zs.

King will join the full RadioShack squad for the next training camp in Calpe, Spain, at the end of January. Then he’ll jump right into racing with the mellow season-opening races in Mallorca and Sardinia. Along with the change of jersey for 2011, King will also have a change of address. Lucca, Italy, will be his next home, where he’ll share a place with BMC’s Chris Butler, an American who King raced with on the national team.

King’s race schedule is not concrete, but he said he would love to do the Amgen Tour of California. “I think it’s a possibility for me. It will also be one of my last opportunities to race in the stars and stripes here. After that, I’ll be back at USPRO. I don’t know … I’m kind of afraid to comment on all that. I would like to get a lot racing. But the races are going to be harder and require more rest.”

For his training, King is continuing to work with Jim Miller from USA Cycling, and will also take direction from RadioShack’s Viatcheslav Ekimov.

Ben King will be joined on RadioShack by his current Trek-Livestrong teammate Jesse Sergent of New Zealand. Taylor Phinney, another Trek-Livestrong rider, opted to move to BMC for 2011.

Tim Johnson says he's reluctant to put odds on his chances in Sunday's race. | Photo: Wil Matthews

BEND, Ore. (VN) — On Sunday afternoon, Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) will line up in defense of his stars-and-stripes jersey at the U.S. national cyclocross championships for the third time in his career. Twelve months ago Johnson, 33, won his second title in three years on the Bend, Oregon, course where he’ll roll up to the line a few minutes before 2:30 p.m. Pacific.

With is arguably the deepest field ever assembled for `cross nationals, Johnson’s defense will likely be his most challenging from a competition standpoint. He is three months into his busiest season ever for travel, already with two midseason European trips and still more ahead.

Johnson sat down to breakfast for a conversation with VeloNews the day ahead of his defense. One of the top riders in the annals of U.S. ’cross was candid about his confidence, an up-and-down season and the importance of that stars-and-stripes jersey.

Q. Where have your thoughts been the last couple days?

A. I’ve been trying to gather up a little bit of steam just because having inconsistent form is kind of new for me. This is where I’m going to stop complaining. I’ve been sick twice this fall. I’ve barely ever been sick in `cross season in years past and I think it’s because of the added travel and the wider reaching schedule, which is what I wanted to do. So I’ve got to deal with it.

I’ve been trying to gather up a little bit of steam and focus on what I have to do tomorrow. The way the conditions are, the way the course is, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good chance. Before the race, I thought Jeremy was the number one and he would be the guy that would be hard to beat, with Todd (Wells), Ryan (Trebon) kind of on the outside, or at least with a shot, but not five-star.

But after I saw the course I thought, “This is Ryan all the way.” All the hard sections of the course are split up between long straightaways. It’s more difficult for him to win when there are multiple hard sections in a row that are tied together. With these breaks in between he can get right back up to speed. I’d say he’s far and away my favorite.

Q. What about your odds?

A. I don’t want to give myself odds. That’s a legitimate concern because I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in whether or not I’m going to have good legs. In years past, I could say that I’ll probably be okay tomorrow and if everything works out I could have a shot. But I don’t know and that’s a little scary. It’s not the way I’d like to feel the day before the national championships.

I’m putting everything into tomorrow and then I’ll take a deep breath and then work on the last four weeks of the season.

Q. In Portland last weekend you had a slow start, but you climbed back to third on Saturday and finished a solid second to Jeremy (Powers) Sunday. Will that impact your prep for tomorrow? Will you do a bigger effort than usual the day before the race?

A. Yeah, a little bit. I can pin that one on travel, the nine-hour difference from Europe to here. Arriving back home in Boston with a few days to get used to that six-hour difference, and then the three-hour difference to Portland, that’s all fine. But throughout all that it’s really tough to get in training when you’re tired from traveling. You may think you’re tired from training, but you’re really not.

I think the whole basis of this is because I was injured in the road season. It’s kind of left me with a fleeting, not base, but a fleeting idea of fitness. Usually everything was clockwork. I would race, race, race all spring and summer and then roll right into ’cross and cruise right through.

Because I had eight weeks of no riding at all, it makes it difficult to know where it is.

Q. At the same time, you’ve had an intense travel schedule this fall with two midseason European trips and a full U.S. calendar.

A. Whether or not I bit off more than I can chew is the question I’m asking and answering. Luckily with the support of Cannondale and our team we’ve been able to do this. But it’s not just doing this, it’s doing it right.

I look at someone like Todd Wells who does the full World Cup schedule on different continents and what we’re doing is just going back and forth to Europe. It’s not that bad. It’s nothing crazy, but how do you manage that to be successful on both sides.

Katie doesn’t race and then she races. She might be doing a little bit more than I like to do. I like racing, I like traveling, but I want to do it better than I am. That’s what I’m focusing on finding – how to do that.

Q. Have you been out watching other races this week?

A. On Thursday I rode around after the women and Ned’s (Overend) race. That’s when the singlespeed race was. I saw Adam (Craig) warming up and I watched a couple laps of the singlespeed race. You’ve got to watch and see where people are going through those puddles.

I think there are a lot of chances for mechanicals. It may not be the most difficult course in the world, but it has some nail biters. It’s slick, it’s muddy, there’s ruts, but there aren’t any straight drops into any ‘Oh my God, am I going to make it?’”

Q. How special is it to pull on the stars-and-stripes jersey in the van in Europe?

Johnson will spend Christmas in Quebec with his wife, Lyne Bessette, and then head to California, and then Europe for another month of racing. | Photo: Wil Matthews

A. It’s pretty special, but more than that it means more to do it over here. It’s great over there and it’s instant recognition for those fans to know what it is, but I think the reactions that you get here in the States are more powerful, because they understand if there’s 2,000 racers here racing for their own jerseys, maybe they made it maybe didn’t, they see you riding around in a jersey they tried for in their own category and you’re wearing the jersey from the biggest and baddest category. I think that’s more powerful.

Q. Will you wear it Sunday at all?

A. I will warming up. Totally. Happily.

I’ve been thinking about it. Being lucky enough to win it before, I think it gets more and more special to win it. To pull it off and then to have to win it back, it’s a huge thing. Someone on the outside might say that there are only four or five guys that are potential winners, but that doesn’t matter. Those guys want it and they’re trying to theoretically take it off your back. That just makes that fight so much more powerful.

If I roll around and pre-ride in that, I’m going to try not to think about it, but I probably will.

Q. Is that extra motivation?

A. Yeah. When I had it in 2007 going into 2008 and we had the second year in Kansas City, rolling around that course I knew I wasn’t going to wear it that afternoon. I wasn’t riding that well. I’d hurt my knee a few weeks earlier and Ryan was absolutely on fire. I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to win this thing again.’ I had counted myself out immediately. That actually made it easier to deal with because for me to win today it would be insane and I got fifth.

Tomorrow I actually have a legitimate shot, so it makes me think about it more.

Q. When you count yourself out, is it easier to enjoy those final moments in the jersey?

A. It’s a lighter feeling.

The one thing that I feel like I’ve been good with throughout my career is that the pressure of trying to win doesn’t get in the way of actual functioning. I’m still trying to put together good laps, a good start, a race where I don’t crash, don’t have any issues.

Sometimes when you have a pressure opportunity, it can weigh you down and it can feel like it’s crushing you. I’ve been okay at keeping that at bay and turning that into energy that can help me.

Q. Will it be strange to slip on the green and black Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com skinsuit tomorrow?

A. No, because that’s my team.

Q. What has been your most difficult title, whether for on or off the bike reasons?

A. I think 2007, racing against Jonathan (Page). The course was so treacherous and I think we were really evenly matched. It all came down to the last lap. That was the most difficult racing wise, for sure.

Q. And what about the most meaningful?

A. I’d say last year; 2007 was big because I stepped away from the sport for a few years and came back in 2005-06. In 2006 I got third in Providence and lost to Page in a sprint. So 2007 was huge, but I think last year the atmosphere, the course, the people made it more special.

Q. Does anyone put on a better nationals than Bend?

A. Besides the Presidio and Providence… Providence had a nice venue and activities after the race downtown. But Bend puts all that to shame. You walk around town and everybody knows what you’re doing and they’re into it.

Q. You’ll take a break after this weekend before heading into the final month of the season. How long do you take to refocus after Sunday?

A. A solid week-and-a-half, two weeks. I’ll have some solid rest and get off the bike. I’m going to go have a nice Christmas in Quebec and another one at home. Then I’ll go out to California and start training out there and then head back to Europe in January. That refocus is physical and mental.

Editor’s Note:

VeloNews Magazine - January 2011

We look back at the 2010 season, including the best crashes, the worst doping excuses and the best photography. The VeloNews Holiday Gift Guide rounds out the issue.

Stevens had a great rookie year and will stay with HTC.

Evelyn Stevens will stay in an HTC-Highroad jersey for two more seasons after penning a contract extension following an impressive debut season among the pro ranks.

Stevens, 26, left behind a budding Wall Street career in order to try her luck in cycling. HTC gave her the chance to commit full-time to racing and training in 2010, and she paid back the team with five victories, including the U.S. national time trial title and a stage win at the women’s Giro.

“The team took an enormous risk in signing me, but this has been an incredible year for me,” said Stevens in a team release. “I knew it would be challenging, and it’s been a lot of hard work, but I’ve made the right decision. There were a lot of high points in the year, but maybe the highest was the Giro di Toscana this autumn, which was an awesome team experience all around .… My aims for 2011 are simple: to use what I’ve learned in 2010 to raise the bar on what I’ve already achieved, and to be the best teammate possible.”

HTC-Highroad’s Ronny Lauke said the team is pleased with how Stevens performed and said they want to keep supporting her as she improves in the coming seasons.

“Evelyn had a really impressive rookie pro year,” Lauke said. “The way Evelyn approaches cycling, too, is inspiring for our other riders. Rather than see the pain and suffering sometimes involved in road racing, she’d rather see all of the advantages. We’re thrilled she’s continuing with HTC-Highroad.”

Slipstream Sports, LLC, the owner and manager of the Garmin-Cervelo team, released a photo of the team’s 2011 team kit on Monday.

The Castelli-made jersey has large black and white panels reminiscent of the Cervelo TestTeam kit, along with Garmin’s trademark blue accents and an argyle stripe on the sleeves. Slipstream is taking pre-orders for the kit on its team website.

Related: Pearl Izumi sues Garmin to get skinsuits back.

Don’t expect to find Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi) moping during the off-season about his lost chance to win this year’s Vuelta a España with a bad-luck crash going into the final week. Instead, the Basque climber is taking heart from lessons learned, which he hopes will help carry him to future success.

Igor Anton was poised to win the 2010 Vuelta, but disaster hit on Stage 14.

Speaking to the Spanish daily El Correo, Antón revealed his resilience and says he takes optimism out of the 2010 Spanish tour.

“A lot of people have asked me how I am after having lost the chance to win the Vuelta,” he told El Correo. “I have also asked myself that question and the answer is, happy. There are more Vueltas. I am satisfied with what I did (two stages and five days in leader’s jersey). I am a fighter and I won’t give up, but I am also happy with how things are.”

Antón knows what it’s like to lose chances due to crashes. In the 2008 Vuelta, he hit the deck on the descent off the Cordal, on the road to Angliru, when he was a likely contender for the stage, not for victory against Alberto Contador.

This year, he crashed out under much different circumstances. He was the leader, with two stage victories and all the confidence behind him. Everyone looked to Antón as the likely winner, but he went down hard, hitting a pothole or maybe clipping a wheel as the peloton roared at nearly 60kph to the base of the short, but steep climb.

In an instant, he was on the ground with a ripped and bloodied jersey and a broken elbow, watching the Vuelta ride away.

Antón insists despite the disappointment he’s satisfied because of what he says he learned during the race.

“During the race I knew to control the pressure, I learned how to calm myself down, to tell myself that everything was under control, that I was strong, that I hadn’t had a bad day,” he continued. “I still haven’t won a grand tour and it’s true that I left with the sensation that perhaps the chance to win had escaped me.”

Antón has had a bumpy ride since turning pro in 2005. He won a mountaintop stage at Alto de Calar in the 2006 Vuelta, announcing his arrival to the elite. Then in 2008, he crashed out of the Vuelta, followed by a disappointing 2009 season that saw his mother fall ill and struggle with personal problems. He was back at his best in 2010, in what he called his “best season ever.”

“After all I’ve been through in my personal life, I don’t let the setbacks in sport get to me,” he said. “Everyone around me put more importance on the crash than I did. Setbacks are part of sport. Injuries are something else. I was injured, yes, but luckily not too badly and I have many years ahead of me.”

“I still have more chances to win the Vuelta. I can still improve and now I know that my chances to win a Vuelta have improved,” he continued. “To be the leader demands more. You notice that you have more enemies in the peloton, more wolves. I am assuming this role.”

For the future, Antón looks to the Ardennes classics, to the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

For 2011, erasing the bad memories of Cabarga and applying the lessons learned will be the priority, with the Vuelta as the season’s top goal.

A 2009 Green Jersey signed by points competition winner Thor Hushovd.

The Raisin Hope Foundation is holding its fourth annual fundraising auction on eBay, starting Sunday.

The foundation, created as means of offering financial and moral support for those who have suffered from serious brain and spinal cord injuries, was established by former Crédit Agricole rider Saul Raisin.

Raisin suffered a debilitating crash in the 2006 Circuit de la Sarthe, and lapsed into a coma. Medical experts were uncertain whether he would survive, but he emerged from the coma six days later and he has devoted himself to raising awareness of the effects of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries since then.

The organization plans to auction off four items in a week-long eBay auction, which begins on Sunday, November 21 and ends a week later. Included in the auction will be a 2009 Tour de France green jersey signed by points competition winner Thor Hushovd.

Also included are posters signed by Andy Hampsten and Eddy Merckx and large Lance Armstrong banner.

The Auction is now live:

1. Thor Hushovd Signed Green Jersey
2. Andy Hampsten signed poster
3. Lance Armstrong signed print
4. Eddy Merckx signed poster
5. Lance Armstrong banner

A 2009 Green Jersey signed by points competition winner Thor Hushovd.

The Raisin Hope Foundation is holding its fourth annual fundraising auction on eBay, starting Sunday.

The foundation, created as means of offering financial and moral support for those who have suffered from serious brain and spinal cord injuries, was established by former Crédit Agricole rider Saul Raisin.

Raisin suffered a debilitating crash in the 2006 Circuit de la Sarthe, and lapsed into a coma. Medical experts were uncertain whether he would survive, but he emerged from the coma six days later and he has devoted himself to raising awareness of the effects of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries since then.

The organization plans to auction off four items in a week-long eBay auction, which begins on Sunday, November 21 and ends a week later. Included in the auction will be a 2009 Tour de France green jersey signed by points competition winner Thor Hushovd.

Also included are posters signed by Andy Hampsten and Eddy Merckx and large Lance Armstrong banner.

VeloNews.com will provide direct links to the Raisin Hope Foundation auction items beginning Sunday.