Christopher Ryan Opie (born 22 July 1987) is a British cyclist and was formerly a presenter at the Global Cycling Network.
Career
Born in Truro, Cornwall, Opie grew up on a small beef and dairy farm. He attended Kea Primary and Penair Secondary Schools in Truro. He began cycling competitively at the age of 10 and progressed to lead the British National Junior RR Series in 2005.
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. He returned from the Netherlands to ride for Pendragon Sports/Le Col/Colnago in 2010, and when the team wound up at the end of the 2011 season he was signed by Nigel Mansell's .
After Mansell decided to end his financial support of Team UK Youth, Opie signed for for the 2014 season. After one season with the team he was announced as part of the inaugural squad for the team for the 2015 season. 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. Opie's retirement was a financial decision, following the bankruptcy of one of the team sponsors which led to a halving of riders' salaries.
In January 2019, Opie joined Global Cycling Network as a presenter. 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). Opie decided to make a return to racing in 2020, with the team, despite there being no races held during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life Opie and his wife Meike have two children together. He is the brother-in-law of Dutch former racing cyclist Remco van der Ven.
Major results
2010 1st GP Al Fatah Tour of Libya 1st Stages 4 & 5 2012 6th Ster van Zwolle 2013 Tour Series 1st Round 8 – Canary Wharf & Round 10 – Aylsham 2nd Overall Tour of the Reservoir 1st Stage 1 2014 2nd National Circuit Race Championships 2nd Circuit of the Fens 2nd Ipswich and Coastal Grand Prix 3rd Otley Grand Prix 3rd Wales Open Criterium 4th Eddie Soens Memorial 4th Grand Prix des Marbriers 5th Colne Grand Prix 2015 1st Stockton Grand Prix 2nd Perfs Pedal Race 2nd Rutland–Melton International CiCLE Classic 3rd Overall Totnes-Vire Stage Race 1st Stage 2 3rd Chepstow Grand Prix 7th Overall Ronde van Midden-Nederland 2016 1st Overall Ronde van Midden-Nederland 1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 2 1st Stage 2 Tour de Korea 2nd Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic 8th Grand Prix de Denain 2017 7th Ronde van Drenthe 2018 8th PWZ Zuidenveld Tour
References
External links
Tour Series blog #7: Chris Opie in Woking, Cycling Weekly 15 June 2011