Matt Richardson fears a ‘frosty’ reception from his former Australia team-mates when he makes his Great Britain debut – but hopes to have the last laugh by beating them on the track.
The 25-year-old caused a stir last August when he switched his allegiance from Australia, the nation he won three medals with at the Paris Olympics, to Britain, the country where he was born.
Richardson’s defection saw him become public enemy No 1 Down Under, with Aussie riders among those attacking his decision and AusCycling banning him for life from ever rejoining them.
Despite moving to the UK seven months ago, the sprinter’s debut for his new nation was delayed by the rules of cycling’s international governing body, which prevented him from competing at last October’s World Championships or last month’s European Championships.
However, Richardson will now ride for Britain for the first time at the Track Nations Cup in Konya, Turkey on Friday, when he could come up against Australia in the team sprint.
‘It will be an interesting feeling,’ admitted Richardson. ‘Racing them is obviously going to be strange. That is a weird thought.
Matt Richardson says he expects a ‘frosty’ reception from some of his former Australia team-mates as he prepares to make his debut for Great Britain
The 25-year-old is set to feature for Britain at the Track Nations Cup in Konya, Turkey on Friday
Richardson (left) caused a stir last August when he switched his allegiance from Australia, the nation he won three medals with at the Paris Olympics, to Britain
‘But they are my opponents now and I try and beat my opponents. That is not going to change now that it’s Australia on the track.
‘Do I expect a frosty reception? Yeah, I expect so. I don’t think the riders took it very well. But that’s almost the done thing if you are in AusCycling.
‘The organisation has made it very clear their thoughts on me and what I did, so that flows down the system and trickles into the athletes. But they are my opponents now, so it doesn’t matter to me if it’s frosty or not.’
Richardson says he will be happy to shake hands with anyone he sees from AusCycling over the weekend.
However, he admits to being angered by his former federation’s public statement last November, when they condemned him for keeping his switch secret before the Olympics and accused him of trying to take AusCycling property with him to the UK.
‘It is disappointing in a way to hear some of the things that have been said and claims that have been made,’ said Richardson.
‘They will say things like, “You kept it a secret and that conflicted with the interests of the team”.
‘However, if I had come out and told people before the Olympics, that would have been a massive distraction to the Australian cycling team and to my team-mates.
Richardson was born in the United Kingdom before he emigrated to live in Warwick, Western Australia as a youngster
He says he will shake hands with any of his former team-mates or representatives from AusCycling over the weekend
‘The way I look at it, from the reaction that I got, it was going to be a lose-lose no matter what I did.
‘So I kind of just brush it off now, it’s in the past. Life goes on, the world keeps spinning and bike races keep happening.
‘For me, I am exactly where I want to be, living the dream that I had. Being here and representing Great Britain was one of the biggest dreams I ever had.
‘I am almost still pinching myself, driving into the track, that I have managed to achieve that and make it happen.’
Richardson admits he is keen to savour the experience of making his international debut for the country of his birth.
He is also hoping to make an immediate impact with his new team in Turkey by winning three gold medals – in the team sprint, when he will ride alongside Harry Radford and Harry Ledingham-Horn, and in the individual sprint and keirin.
‘It’s going to be a pretty special feeling,’ said Richardson, who scooped silvers in his two individual events and bronze in the team race at Paris 2024.
‘I will be sitting in the pit that I wanted to sit in for many, many years. I am just really looking forward to soaking up that experience because it will only happen once.
He is also hoping to make an immediate impact with his new team in Turkey by winning three gold medals in three different disciplines
The 25-year-old (left) also lumped praise on British Cycling for helping to facilitate a ‘smooth’ transition
‘I like to hold myself to a high standard and I do really believe in my ability and what I can achieve,
‘We have a new team sprint team and obviously it’s a completely new team for me, so I am really excited to see what we can do there.
‘It’s such an exciting prospect to have new challenges and new team-mates to work with.
‘Australia are always quite strong, so I think it will be quite tight between us and maybe three other teams.
‘Then, individually, I’d like to believe that I could win both sprint and keirin. That’s definitely what I will try and set out to achieve. The form is good so it should be exciting things in Turkey.’
There have also been exciting things happening in Manchester, with Richardson finally moving into his own house last week.
‘That’s the one thing I wasn’t able to arrange pre-Olympics,’ he added. ‘That would obviously have raised a few alarm bells, if I was looking to set up somewhere to live in Manchester after the Olympics!
‘So that was pretty much the one thing I had to organise since moving over. It has taken a bit of time but I am definitely way on my way to being fully settled.
‘The support of British Cycling has been second to none and that has made the whole transition go as smoothly as it possibly could.’
