Marcus Christie got back to his best this seaon after years of injury and will ride at UCI Continental level in 2014 for An Post-Chainreaction (Photo: Chris Sharp)
By Brian Canty
One of the big Irish cycling success stories of 2013 was that of 22-year-old Marcus Christie.
The Derry native had been cursed with illness and injury throughout his U23 years. He told stickybottle back in February that this year would be crucial to his development and that he’d need to make his mark if he was ever to go anywhere in the sport.
To his credit, he has done just that in his comeback season. He set a host of records against the clock, shattering the national 50-mile time trial record by over five minutes. He also took a brilliant win in only his second kermesse race in Belgium, finished third in the National U23 TT Championships, rode the World U23 Championships in Florence and was subsequently signed by An Post Chain Reaction for next year.
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Next Tuesday he’ll fly out to Spain with the other members of the team for their first training camp and he’s just grateful that he finds himself in this position.
“Definitely, the winter went well so I’m just thankful for everything working out and having no hiccups throughout the year. I’m looking forward to the year ahead now and hopefully I can do something,” he offered.
“It’s going to be a step up but I’m looking forward to it. I’m not scared of it. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do so I must embrace it and take it on and get stuck in,” he added.
Christie admitted there were times he thought he’d never get to where he is now.
“The Achilles injury really worried me because it was with me all through my espoir years. I was trying to get back and there were times when I was thinking I wasn’t going to make it back. And then with the knee; I always knew it wasn’t on the same scale as the Achilles but it still hurt.”
“The main injury (Achilles); I was coming back from that and it was always in the back of my mind and any niggle I was thinking, ‘is this it again?’. I was a bit conscious of it but in the grander scheme of things I had nothing and that was a big factor for me this year. It was a major relief having no pain, it’s been a long time coming.”
Though it took him a while to really get motoring this year, July was when he started to hit peak form; underlined by some blistering times over 10, 20 and 50 miles.
“Every weekend there was a race and I tried to show people I was getting stronger and faster. And the TT was something that was controllable and you could see the progress I was making.”
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“I could tell if I was going to go well or not. The ball was always in my court and that was nice for a change. I enjoyed those TT races because there was no place to hide and they just came week after week.”
“I was being consistent and wasn’t dropping off. And I knew if I could keep that up to the end of the year I would have a good chance of the Worlds. So I set my target at that and when I made the team I was over the moon. I was very proud to reach that level.”
Before that though, he went to Belgium under the watchful eye of Cycling Ireland head coach Brian Nugent for a stint of racing. And in only his second kermesse, he demolished the field.
“I think Tommy (Evans, coach) was speaking to Brian Nugent and he managed to get me into the house over there. It was definitely good to get away from just training on my own in Ireland and be able to train with Ryan Mullen and those guys. We built up a good friendship.”
“So we started doing a few kermesses and I loved them. It was a bit of an eye opener for me going into such a big bunch because I hadn’t raced there for so long. But I picked it up pretty quickly and I liked it a lot.”
“The biggest thing was the tactics for me, because normally I wouldn’t have the best approach. But that day I won, I just stayed calm, made the move, and got in a good break with everyone working.”
“I stayed calm and with about five laps to go I saw the others grimacing and I pulled away and managed to hold them off. I was very happy with that.”
Representing Ireland again after years in the wilderness is a moment he said he’s unlikely to ever forget, even if he didn’t perform as he’d have liked.
“For every rider in Ireland that’s what you aspire to; to ride for your country. So it was a big thing for me after all the hard years of trying to get back. It made it all worthwhile and I was over the moon.”
“You’re always a wee bit nervous about an event like the Worlds and I think I was a bit under the weather on the day for some reason. My result was disappointing but at the end of the day, it’s a World Championships. Hopefully I can make up for it next season.”
Joining up with the likes of fellow Irishmen Ryan Mullen, Sean Downey, Jack Wilson and Conor Dunne with An Post-Chainreaction in Belgium next year is something he says will be like a home from home.
“For me it was a no brainer joining them because it’s an excellent team and they ride big races. It’s a great opportunity to go forward in the sport and I wasn’t going to let it go.”
“I’m really looking forward to it, some of the classics-style races, they’re the races I think I’m more suited to and I can’t wait to get started. I haven’t seen what my race programme will be like but the Rás is something I’d love to do. It’s a race I’ve never done so to make that team would be something special.”
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