Olympic Track Ace Richardson Hits Back after Australia Blacklisting

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Olympic track speedster Matthew Richardson hit back at the Australian federation after it issued a spicy statement addressing his decision to switch lanes to Team GB.

The Aussie-turned-Brit passed off his former nation’s blacklisting as “just words on a piece of paper” in a conversation with Cycling Weekly at the UCI track champion’s league.

“It’s almost like you leave your job, and three months later, they go, ‘Well, you’re fired!’” Richardson said Tuesday.

“It’s just words on a piece of paper. They don’t really carry much weight for me.” Richardson said of Australia’s decision to blanket ban his return to the team.

Richardson was born in England but moved to Australia as a child and lived there until this summer.

The now-25-year-old wore green and gold for the Aussie national team under a dual citizenship and became one of the velodrome’s premier sprinters. He counts a team sprint world title and three medals from the Paris Olympic Games to his Team Australia palmarès.

Richardson chose to commit to a British passport soon after the Games “to embrace a new chapter in my journey and chase a dream.”

He’s now living in the UK and racing in a British skinsuit at the UCI track champion’s league.

A nasty nationality spat

Australia Cycling was not amused at Richardson’s “defection.”

It conducted a deep dive review of his decision to switch nationality and this week published its crushing conclusion.

Richardson is now on the naughty step, for life. He’s banned from ever returning to represent Australia and prohibited from using any resources and tech associated to the team.

“These decisions underscore AusCycling’s adherence to the values of the Australian national team and our broader commitment to the principle of ’Win Well,’” said Cycling Australia’s performance chief Jesse Korf.

“Integrity, respect, and trust are foundational to our team and organization, and we remain focused on fostering an environment that upholds these standards.”

Cycling Australia’s report noted that Richardson delayed disclosing his intention to switch passports until after the Olympic Games. It also states he attempted to swipe a custom bike, cockpit, and Olympic race suit to take to Great Britain.

Richardson told Cycling Weekly he accepted the findings but couldn’t fathom the ferocity of his former federation’s rebuke.

“I didn’t know it was coming,” Richardson told Cycling Weekly. “I guess they were just keen to get one last, final blow, one last, final word. But ultimately, I had left three months ago.

“I’m not sure where the confusion has come from,” he continued. “I thought it was pretty obvious that, by wanting to ride for GB for the rest of my career, that would mean I didn’t want to ride for Australia for the rest of my career.”

‘Hopefully we can put it to bed and enjoy riding in circles’

As part of AusCycling’s review, the national body said it looked into imposing a two-year non-competition clause. If enacted, it would rule Richardson out of all racing.

The all-out ban was found to be “legally unenforceable.”

GB’s new top sprinter is now hoping he and the Australian federation can diffuse any remaining tension on the track.

“I really did think I repaid them with all the results. The world championship, the three Olympic medals that I returned,” Richardson said this week. “Unfortunately, noise was created around the issue. But I sleep well at night knowing that that noise didn’t come from myself.

“Hopefully in the years to come, myself and AusCycling can come to some sort of understanding,” Richardson said. “But for now, there we go. They’ve had their final word. Hopefully we can just put it to bed and just enjoy riding in circles.”