The 81-mile pro division in Sunday’s cycling race in Auburn might seem like a ride in the park for Ted King of New Hampshire.

Especially for a racer fresh off the grueling 24-day, 2,100-plus mile Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy), which saw Lance Armstrong finish 12th at last weekend’s conclusion.

King, 26, headlines more than 400 riders expected this weekend to race through the streets of Auburn in Saturday’s Lake Auburn Road Race and Sunday’s Great Falls Criterium.

With several competitors competing both days, race coordinator John Grenier expects each event to draw at least 300 cyclists in nine division.

Saturday’s races, which circle Taylor Pond, begin at 10 a.m., while Sunday’s criterium – a shoulder-to-shoulder sprint through downtown Auburn – gets under way at 8:30 a.m.

King, 26, has just returned to the U.S. following his debut in one of Europe’s grand tours. A member of the new Cervelo Test Team, King raced in support of reigning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre, who finished fourth in Italy. Cervelo cyclists won four of the 21 stages.

According to Grenier, King’s role as a support rider was to assist Sastre and the team’s other top racers with duties like pacing in the mountains and breaking the wind. Most support riders in their grand tour debuts don’t finish the rigorous events, said Grenier, but King persevered to place 111th out of 169 finishers.

King’s performance even caught the eye of Armstrong, who interviewed the New Hampshire rider for a cycling Web site during the event.

The Lake Auburn Road Race kicks off the eighth-annual event, which starts on Perkins Ridge Road at Wallingford Orchards. Riders will race either 35, 57 or 81 miles, depending on the division.

“We’ve been fine tuning this race for the last five years so that the course is hard enough for competition but doesn’t discourage people from coming back,” Grenier said.

At one time, the course circled Lake Auburn and also ventured into Buckfield and Turner, which proved too difficult for some less experienced riders. The organizers settled on the current 11.5-mile circuit around Taylor Pond and Perkins Ridge three years ago.

The fields have grown since the course change.

“The racers like the course,” Grenier said. “Whether you are a good climber or a good sprinter, you have a good chance.”

The featured men’s pro division starts at noon and will cover seven circuits.

Sunday’s criterium is a different beast. Sometimes compared to NASCAR, the race features an 0.8-mile loop in downtown Auburn covering Court, High, Elm and Main streets.

Competitors race in a tight pack, inches apart. One mistake can send several riders tumbling.

“Drafting is more important. Bike handling skills is more important,” Grenier said. “It has the reputation for having more crashes, so some people tend to shy away from it.”

The men’s pro division race, which starts at 2 p.m., will do 35 laps. The other divisions go 20 laps.