Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Christopher Ryan Opie |
Born | Truro, Cornwall, England [1] | 22 July 1987
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [1] |
Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) [1] |
Team information | |
Current team | Saint Piran |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Rider type | Sprinter [2] |
Amateur teams | |
1998–2005 | www.cyclelogic.co.uk |
2006 | UC Aubenas |
2007 | One and All Cycling |
2010–2011 | Pendragon–Le Col–Colnago |
2020 | Saint Piran [3] |
Professional teams | |
2012–2013 | Team UK Youth |
2014 | Rapha Condor–JLT |
2015–2016 | ONE Pro Cycling |
2017–2018 | Bike Channel–Canyon [2] |
2021– | Saint Piran |
Christopher Ryan Opie (born 22 July 1987) is a British cyclist. Outside of racing, Opie has been a contributor and presenter for the Global Cycling Network. [4]
Born in Truro, Cornwall, Opie grew up on a small beef and dairy farm. He attended Kea Primary and Penair Secondary Schools in Truro. [5] He began cycling competitively at the age of 10 and progressed to lead the British National Junior RR Series in 2005. [5]
In 2006, Opie raced in France for UC Aubenas and he battled with a slight eating disorder and, in 2007, with Glandular Fever, but returned to racing in 2008, when he was based in the Netherlands and Belgium. [5] He returned from the Netherlands to ride for Pendragon Sports/Le Col/Colnago in 2010, [6] and when the team wound up at the end of the 2011 season [7] he was signed by Nigel Mansell's Team UK Youth. [8]
After Mansell decided to end his financial support of Team UK Youth, Opie signed for Rapha Condor–JLT for the 2014 season. [9] After one season with the team he was announced as part of the inaugural squad for the ONE Pro Cycling team for the 2015 season. [10] Opie announced his retirement from competition in May 2018 immediately before his final race, the last round of that year's Tour Series in Salisbury. [2] [11] Opie's retirement was a financial decision, following the bankruptcy of one of the team sponsors which led to a halving of riders' salaries. [12]
In January 2019, Opie joined Global Cycling Network as a presenter. [13] However the transition away from racing was not without difficulty and as Opie described himself, led to a minor breakdown suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [12] Opie decided to make a return to racing in 2020, with the Saint Piran team, despite there being no races held during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. [14]
Opie and his wife Meike have two children together. [12] He is the brother-in-law of Dutch former racing cyclist Remco van der Ven. [15]
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