Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, King spent his adolescence in Brentwood, New Hampshire, United States. In 2005, he graduated from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, United States where he studied economics and mathematics. During his career King resided in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Though he shares a surname with several other professional cyclists, in the pro peloton Ted only shares family relation to his older brother Robert "Robbie" King, who was a professional cyclist from 2006-2008. King's father, also Ted King, was an orthopaedic surgeon practicing in Exeter for 25 years before suffering a stroke in 2003. The elder King is now a member of the , an organization in Portsmouth, New Hampshire dedicated to improving the lives of those living with brain injury. In 2011, the two King brothers helped create the King Challenge, an annual benefit bike ride in Stratham, New Hampshire, which as of the ninth edition in 2019 has generated more than one-million dollars for the Krempels Center. Ted is now an ambassador for the general sport of cycling, working with long time sponsors to get more people more excited about riding a bike, racing a bike, and spending time on a bike.
Career
Between 2006 and 2008, he competed with, a UCI ConTeam. King signed with, a UCI ProConTeam, for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He signed with, a UCI ProTeam, for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He remained with for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. King is a domestique having raced for Thor Hushovd, Carlos Sastre, and most notably spending four years alongside Peter Sagan. King was controversially disqualified from the 2013 Tour de France. The disqualification was a result of finishing seven seconds outside the elimination time on Stage 4. King had been involved in a crash on Stage 1 in the lead up to the sprint finale for his teammate Peter Sagan; the crash resulted in a separated shoulder and broken scapula among other injuries for King. He continued on for three more stages before finishing outside that time limit, as a result he was not able to start the next day. King rode the 2014 Tour de France, but withdrew on Stage 10, after succumbing to injuries sustained from Stage 1. King signed with, a UCI ProTeam, for the 2015 season. He retired after the 2015 season.
