Derry cyclist Marcus Christie ready to make his mark

While everyone sets goals for the New Year there may not be any as big as those of local cyclist Marcus Christie.

The 25-year-old has returned to the sport he loves after a two-year hiatus fuelled by discontent and injuries – and he’s come back with a bang.

The national record holder for the 50 and 100 mile time trials, Christie is well on track to fulfilling his dream of returning to the Commonwealth Games.

The former Foyle College student has been tipped by many as one to watch for the future and his next big milestone is April 2018 when Australia host the event that he finished 13th in three years ago.

Though it is over a year away Christie has already been working hard to avenge what he saw as a disappointing first Commonwealths by his incredibly high standards.

His break from the sport has given him a new lease of life and, on a former bike of five times Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, he is ready to tackle this year head on.

Currently studying for his Sports Coaching degree from Jordanstown University the local man reflected on where it all began for him – and it wasn’t initially on a bike.

“I started off in athletics and I was running with the Sparta club when I was about 16 or 17,” Christie told the Derry News.

“I got a foot injury that stopped me from being able to train and it affected my PE classes in school because while the others were playing football or rugby I wasn’t able to participate and instead I was using the gym at Magee University.

“I seen a poster behind the desk one day for students about track cycling and it was something I wanted to try so I showed it to my doctor and he gave me the go ahead,” he recalled.

“Fortunately enough they let me participate despite the fact I wasn’t attending the university and they liked the results and gave me a basic training programme before I came back six weeks later. It was then that I met Tommy Evans and he got me involved with the National Junior team.”

A promising beginning started to go wrong in 2010 for Christie when he was in Switzerland with the Irish under-23 international elite high performance squad. An Achilles injury was the start of what was to be a frustrating time.

“It was one of those bizarre injuries that nobody could really seem to understand which was obviously really difficult. I went to see doctors in Jordanstown and Dublin but they just couldn’t find a diagnosis for the issue,” he explained.

“After two years I went over for a consultation in London and eventually we got to the bottom of it and I went to Sweden for an operation. I then had to do about six months of rehab to try and get myself back to where I was after such a long time of being hampered with the problem.”

In 2014 he raced a full season with An Post Chain Reaction and managed a career-best result when he finished sixth in the opening stage, and wore the white jersey, in the L’Etoile Des Besseges - the Union Cycliste Internationale 2.1 professional stage race in France.

It wasn’t all good however as, though a 13th place Commonwealth finish may seem incredible to most, the Jordanstown student said that his 25 mile time of 52.12.68 in Glasgow three years ago didn’t feel like the best he could achieve.

“I think looking back on the preparation and the lead up to the Games the time and the placing that I got was probably a good result but it’s definitely something I feel I can improve on,” he insisted.

“Even looking at the pictures I was more like a rugby player than a cyclist so while it was a good experience I’ll certainly be bidding for better. I’d be hoping for a top ten finish next year, maybe even to be pushing for a medal.”

It was then that Christie decided it was time for him to step away, which he says, under the circumstances, was not that difficult of a decision to make.

“I went to America to compete in some races that didn’t really materialise and then I came back to do the National Championships in Ireland and I was just in really bad condition to be totally honest,” he admitted.

“I was frustrated and I think things really started to get on top of me mentally which is something I hadn’t necessarily ever thought about before that. I decided that I needed to try something else because I needed a different perspective.”

After starting his degree the 25-year-old took up rowing with the local Belfast Boat Club and he said that the competitive atmosphere and the return to regular training made him fall back in love with his sport.

“I would go down and see the rowers motivation and hunger and it really reminded me of the times beforehand that I had that for cycling and it brought that feeling back for me,” Christie recalled.

“I knew that it would take me a while to get back to where I was and to rebuild that technique. I had improved my upper body strength through the rowing but I had to go through a training protocol to get ready for cycling again and that took a few months over the winter of 2015 and into 2016 but towards the end of the season I started to feel really good about it again,” he added.

One of the first things he did was purchase a new bike – and it was a special one. A Team Sky Pinarello Bolide TT bike that was used by renowned champion Bradley Wiggins in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour of California is now in the hands for the local man.

It helped him to return with a bang as he took almost five minutes off his own Irish record in the 50 mile time trial with a time that was the third fastest in the UK ever and the fastest recorded in the world in 2016. In turn, he also set the fastest 10 mile time for a race staged in Ireland.

Now looking at the first full year since his return to cycling Christie admitted he felt this was his chance to really push forward and have even further success in cycling both nationally and internationally.

“Looking ahead to this year I’m really hopeful about what I can achieve. The Commonwealth time trials are my main priority but I also want to get in good shape to really compete at the National Championships because that’s something I don’t feel I have ever done,” said the 25-year-old.

“I’ve been working a lot on high intensity training and I’m going to start looking at improving my endurance soon as well. Generally I feel like with my own cycling I’m in a much better place and I’m very much optimistic about the year ahead.

“As well as that I’ve started holding my own personal training classes and wattbike sessions at Performance Swim Bike Ride which has been really positive for me workwise as well and that’s all thanks to Brendan Conor who has been massively supportive of me and let me use the facilities,” he added.

While his break saw him miss out on Rio this year the cyclist is not short of ambition and he said Tokyo in 2020 is very much part of his plans.

“Realistically I am taking things year by year right now because you can’t afford to look too far ahead but of course the Olympics are always going to be on your mind,” Christie admitted.

“I know that I need to showcase myself and I need to have a good 2017. My aim is to have a successful National Championships first and foremost because you need to prove your worth before you can think about such major events like the Commonwealths and the Olympics.

“Having said that, I believe in myself and I feel like Tokyo is a realistic goal for me. I would love to do it but it does just depend on how the next 12 months pans out for me, and where I can go from there,” he concluded.

Anyone interested in having a personal training session or a wattbike class with Commonwealth athlete Christie can contact the ‘Performance Swim Bike Run’ Facebook page.