Born in
Truro,
Cornwall, Opie grew up on a small beef and dairy farm. He attended Kea Primary and Penair Secondary Schools in Truro.[5] He began cycling competitively at the age of 10 and progressed to lead the British National Junior RR Series in 2005.[5]
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.[5] He returned from the Netherlands to ride for Pendragon Sports/Le Col/Colnago in 2010,[6] and when the team wound up at the end of the 2011 season[7] he was signed by
Nigel Mansell's
Team UK Youth.[8]
After Mansell decided to end his financial support of Team UK Youth, Opie signed for
Rapha Condor–JLT for the 2014 season.[9] 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.[10] 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.[2][11] Opie's retirement was a financial decision, following the bankruptcy of one of the team sponsors which led to a halving of riders' salaries.[12]
In January 2019, Opie joined
Global Cycling Network as a presenter.[13] 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).[12] 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.[14]
Personal life
Opie and his wife Meike have two children together.[12] He is the brother-in-law of Dutch former racing cyclist
Remco van der Ven.[15]