Chris Opie

Christopher Ryan Opie (born 22 July 1987) is a British cyclist and a contributor to 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 Team UK Youth.

After Mansell decided to end his financial support of Team UK Youth, Opie signed for Rapha Condor–JLT for the 2014 season. 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. 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 Saint Piran team, despite there being no races held during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.