Derry cyclist Marcus Christie getting back to his best!

Marcus Christie is back doing what he loves once again and he is turning plenty of heads in doing so. 

The Derry cyclist, now 33, is undergoing something of a career revival, having spent the past few weeks claiming big wins and plenty of headlines in the process. 

Just a few weeks ago, he stole the show in the first edition of Gran Fondo Ireland in Sligo. The event was an instant success with 1800 riders from 20 different countries at the start, but the experienced cyclist was out on top on both days. 

In the 25.6 km time trial on the Saturday, Marcus rode the distance in a time of 30m53 with an average speed of 49.73 km/h.

The very next day, Christie doubled up with the win in the Gran Fondo race. He won solo with a 25 seconds gap to Bryan McCrystal with time trial runner-up Paul Kennedy finishing in third.

Not long after that, Marcus set a new course record for Donegal Bay CC 25-mile TT on the out-and-back Donegal Town to Ballyshannon course, clocking a time of 48:17 beating the course record set by George Pedan in 2023 by 1:06. 

With that momentum building behind him, Marcus then added a win at the Foyle GP to his growing collection, and he is just getting started this summer. 

The Sligo event in particular however was eye-opening, not just for other riders and cycling fans, it was for the man himself, who has been spending a lot of time in Majorca of late.

“Well, I hoped to do well on the time trial,” he recalled. “I'm glad things just clicked and I was able to get the win. And then the road race was just like more of a bonus.

Paul McGroary congratulates Marcus Christie on setting a new course record for Donegal Bay CC 25-mile TT on the out-and-back Donegal Town to Ballyshannon course.

"I just was more interested in doing the event because it was closed roads rather than anything else and I just had good legs and was able to make the right moves at the right time and managed to win solo. So, I was well happy with that and it just worked out well.” 

The success of the time trial was the boost he needed to win the solo event on the Sunday in a major event which was in Ireland for the very first time. 

“I knew it was going well from the TT but I probably would have been disappointed if I hadn't won that,” he explained. “I had put pressure on myself to do well. So, I knew it was a good performance, relatively speaking, but I didn't know if I would translate the good legs on the next day on the road race.” 

It has been stop-start for Marcus in recent years, who has put a lot of his focus and energy into different projects, but his love of cyclist never fully left him. His performances back home recently have shown that the passion, and the talent, is as present as ever.

Action from the Gran Fondo Ireland which took place in Sigo recently.

“I've been taking training camps in Majorca, which has been predominantly a lot of months, so I haven't been racing as much as I would have liked. I think the last month I've kind of got a good bit of form,” he continued.

“I got COVID at the end of the Ras and that kind of knocked me back a bit, but I've just got over that again. But in the last few weeks, I've chalked up good results. I broke a course record in Donegal Town on Thursday night in the time trial, which was a hard course. That's probably one of the best TTs I've ever done, which is surprising. And after that, I won another road race, so I'm definitely getting better. It's all kicked along from Sligo really.” 

“I've been racing for a team in the Isle of Man, which has been really helpful because they've helped me. I suppose they thought that I was capable of getting a few results, but I didn't really know if I could or not so maybe a bit surprised.”

Frustration

Marcus’ omission from the NI Commonwealth Games team in 2022 was a huge blow which he still feels frustrated with today. Seemingly odds on for selection for the event in Birmingham, he was left out of the squad with no explanation, and even when other riders dropped out injured, there was still no call up. Marcus admits that shun affected him deeply, a pain which saw him drift away from the sport in its aftermath. 

“I think I was just frustrated, because even the last Commonwealth Games, which were 2021, I was a nailed-on cert for that, and I had all the criteria,” he reflected.

“Organisers wouldn't really respond to my queries when I wasn't selected. I even did a piece with the Derry Journal because they wanted to talk about it because they were surprised.

"I contacted the actual Commonwealth Games Federation and never got an actual response. But I heard through hearsay that they were saying that because they didn't see me being competitive in four years’ time, they weren't going to take me to Birmingham. 

“At the time, Liverpool were playing in the Champions League final, and I was like, “Is Klopp going to say to Salah - I don't see you being competitive in four years’ time, so I'm not going to play you?” That's where I thought that was stemming from. They just basically said I was past my prime, but even this week with that time trial in Donegal, I think that was the best TT I've done, so I'm definitely not past my prime. 

Marcus with friend and fan Carl Fullerton. 

“So, when you're facing that, I don't really know if it was political or what, but it makes you just lose the morale for it. Because ultimately, you want to be doing at least Commonwealth Games level, so my motivation did dwindle after that, to be honest. Now, I just really took it up because, I enjoy doing it, but like that, I did lose the motivation to push myself.” 

There is no doubt that the motivation has returned, and, judging by the last few weeks alone, this is not the last time that we have heard of Marcus Christie in 2024.