Marcus Christie has opted for a change of direction in his life and will no longer pursue a career as a professional cyclist. The Derry man is now studying Sports Coaching in the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, while rowing in his spare time.
Former Irish U23 international Marcus Christie has decided to hang up his wheels indefinitely.
The 24 year-old Derry man had been pondering his future in the sport following a career blighted by injury and he has come to the conclusion that cycling is no longer for him.
He is currently pursuing a four-year science degree course in sports coaching at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.
And rowing is something he aims to take more seriously in the months and years ahead.
He’s a member of the club at the campus and was targeted by them through a talent identification programme.
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A man of Christie’s physical ability should be able to make a swift transition to the sport and the crossover between the two codes is not something new.
Top Irish female riders Caroline Ryan and Eimear Moran both came to cycling from rowing backgrounds, as did Galway Bay CC man Paul Giblin.
The latter two have won medals in some of the biggest races in the world at varsity level while Ryan’s pedigree is no less impressive.
She was an accomplished oarswoman and represented Ireland from 2005 to 2008.
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In that time she competed in the World Championships at Eton in 2006 but missed out on selection for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Christie was contracted to American-based Bissell-ABG-Giant this year but only raced sporadically with them.
He returned to Ireland for the national championships in June where he finished sixth in the elite time-trial and 29th in the road race.
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 UCI 2.1 professional stage race in France.
Later in the year he was 13th in the men’s time trial at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but that was as good as it got for him.
A year earlier in 2013 he was part of the two-man Irish team for the World U23 time-trial championships in Florence where he finished an excellent 28th out of 74 starters.
We'll have an extended interview with Christie shortly.
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