Olympic medallist Matthew Richardson has opened up on his decision to defect from Australia to Great Britain in the wake of his life ban from ever representing donning the green-and-gold again.
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Richardson was one of Australia’s stars of the velodrome at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing with silver in both the Keirin and Sprint events as well as bronze in the Team Sprint.
But in August, he dropped a bombshell, announcing he would be switching his allegiance to Great Britain.
Richardson was born in Maidstone, England, to English parents but moved to Australia at the age of nine, beginning cycling in his early teens in Warwick, in Perth, Western Australia.
His entire development took place in Australia and he rose to become a world champion, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Olympic medallist.
On Monday night, AusCycling released a statement revealing Richardson would never again race for Australia, would be banned from using any resources relating to the Australian Cycling team or its partners, and would be ineligible for any AusCycling awards effective immediately.
But it appears that won’t be an issue for Richardson, who kicked off his time for Team Great Britain in the perfect way at the UCI Track Champions League in Paris.
While Richardson is unable to represent Great Britain in events like World Championships or Olympics until next year, he was able to participate in the Track Champions League.
And he celebrated by winning both the Keirin and Sprint events, defeating great rival and Olympic gold medallist in both events Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen.
Racing in both the Sprint and Keirin races, Richardson triumphed, claiming a maximum 40 points on offer.
SBS shared a video from Richardson over the weekend before the AusCycling ban was handed down with the 25-year-old explaining it was both something he wanted to do, and was now or never.
“GB has always been something that’s kind of stuck with me since I was a kid,” Richardson said.
“Since I moved out to Australia and then when I started racing for Australia, it was always kind of a thought in my mind that I could actually be racing for GB, so it kind of stuck with me since then.
“Kind of midway through my career now, I figured now is probably a good time to do it, if I was going to do it. And I just kind of thought I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t give it a crack and try and make the swap.
“So here I am.”
Richardson said the lifestyle and training was similar but that the short travel was definitely a perk.
“Coming here (Paris) was only an hour flight,” he said. “Super chill, rather than coming from Australia, it takes two days or something like that.
“It’s already kind of reaping the rewards from that sense. And it’s nice being close to the racing.
“The move has come with its challenges of course — trying to settle into a new environment and a new team and things like that, but it’s gone pretty smoothly I’d say.”
And despite being over 24 hours since the AusCycling announcement, if it has impacted Richardson he hasn’t revealed anything.
On social media, he’s posted once since then, sharing a picture of himself in the coveted blue leaders’ jersey for the Track Champions League.
He commented: “Dream start to the @ucitcl in Paris! Tough night out there with what felt like a lot of pressure to perform. Long way to go still so just taking it one race at a time. Next stop Netherlands.”
Some Aussie fans were still fuming however, with one replying to the post: “Banned from Australian Cycling for life. You can’t win back respect and integrity.”
Another wrote: “Olympic cyclist disappointing behaviour deceptive & even traitorous to the country who funded & developed his skills – even attempting to remove Aus cycling equipment to his “new country.”
But despite the backlash from his former nation, speaking after the weekend, it appears Richardson is not looking back.
“To even get the opportunity to race a rider such as Harrie (Lavreysen), a 16-time UCI world champion, a phenomenal athlete, and to take wins away feels pretty sweet,” he said.
“Being in his home court next week is going to be an extra challenge, but if anything, it’ll make me want to win a little bit more.
“It’s amazing (racing and winning in GB colours). I was really trying to soak in the experience, but when the announcer called my name, representing Great Britain, it was such a special feeling.
“It’s a dream come true really and to win every single race tonight was more than I could have ever wished for.”
AusCycling threw the book at Richardson after an attempt to have him banned from competition for two years failed after it was deemed “legally unenforceable”.
A review into the circumstances of Richardson’s defection found he had delayed the official disclosure of his defection until after the Olympics, with the knowledge and backing of British Cycling, and withheld the news from AusCycling, his teammates and key stakeholders.
Richardson said at the time of his defection this was “purely because this is something I needed to deal with and I didn’t want to put that burden on anyone and distract from anyone’s Olympic prep”.
The review also found that “after the Games, but before announcing his decision, Richardson asked to take AusCycling property including a custom bike, cockpit and Olympic race suit to Great Britain. This represented an unacceptable risk to AusCycling’s intellectual property”.
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