Opie in 2015 | |
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 and a contributor to 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]