Track cyclist Matt Richardson, who won three Olympic medals for Australia before switching to England, says the backlash from his decision has had “zero effect” on him. The 27-year-old, born in Maidstone but raised in Perth, caused a stir after winning two silvers and a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and then changing allegiance to represent Great Britain and England.
Richardson unfazed by criticism
“I tried to block out all the negativity, and all the noise,” Richardson said. “I experienced the way they decided to handle it at the time, and moved on as quickly as I could. Ultimately, it has zero effect on me.” He added that if the British public hadn’t taken it well, “that wouldn’t have been very good – but it wasn’t the case.”
Richardson received a life ban from competing for Australia, but has since excelled for Team GB and England. He won silver at last year’s world championships, behind Harrie Lavreysen, and defeated the Dutchman in the sprint at February’s European Championships. He has twice broken the flying 200m world record, becoming the first cyclist to go under nine seconds.
Better resources in British program
Richardson attributed his progress to better resources in the UK, famously comparing the Australian program to “high school” and the British program to “Hogwarts.” He said, “We fly with more bikes, and more equipment, anything we need to perform at our absolute best at a given race. I remember doing World Cups for Australia, and I would only fly over with my race bike. I fly to races now with about four or five bikes. These things really make a difference.”
Former teammate adds spice
In Glasgow, Richardson may face former Australian teammate Leigh Hoffman, who said, “The Aussies want me to smash him, the Brits want him to smash me and that’s the way it goes. Seeing him in GB colours probably does bring out a bit more fire in me.” Richardson welcomes the rivalry: “I use it as fuel. I always find motivation in something, whether it’s trying to hunt someone down, trying to be better than someone, or trying to stay better than other people.”
Richardson will be racing in Japan before the Commonwealth Games and may fly directly to Glasgow on race day. He is unsure which sprint disciplines he will compete in, but said it might still be possible to do the team sprint, sprint, keirin and kilo.
