Advertisement

Cyclist Matthew Richardson could face two-year ban after defecting to GB from Australia

Richardson shocked the cycling world switching his international allegiance to Great Britain.

ben talintyre
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Australia is exploring whether triple Olympic medallist Matthew Richardson can be banned from competing on the international cycling stage for two years following his defection to Great Britain. Australian cycling was left reeling when Richardson announced on social media earlier this week that he had decided to switch international allegiances hot off the heels of winning silver for Australia in both the men's keirin and sprint and bronze in the men's team sprint in Paris.

Richardson represented Australia in Paris while keeping his plan to switch to Team GB a secret from the Australian hierarchy. Australia was reportedly not even consulted by world cycling body UCI for permission to release the cyclist, who has been a member of the track cycling program.

Pictured Matthew Richardson
Matthew Richardson shocked the cycling world by defecting from Australia to Great Britain following the Paris Olympics. Image: Getty

Richardson was born in England but moved to Australia at the age of nine and has spent his entire cycling career in the Australian system. The former Australian cyclist said his desire to race for Britain was sparked seven years ago at his first junior international competition while racing for Australia.

“I just kind of felt this sense of, you know, seeing the British team compete and going ‘Oh, that would be (amazing) … That feels like my country,” he told the Eng­lish Telegraph. Announcing his decision this week, Richardson said he had a 'strong emotional connection' with his country of birth which also happens to be the same team his new girlfriend Emma Finucane, who won gold in the women’s team sprint in Paris, is part of.

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 11: (L-R) Silver medalist Matthew Richardson and Bronze medalist Matthew Glaetzer of Team Australia celebrate after the Men's Keirin, Final for Gold on day sixteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Matthew Richardson (left) won silver for Australia in both the men's keirin and sprint and bronze in the men's team sprint in Paris. Image: Getty

The works behind Richardson's switch began in February in Adelaide when the cyclist spoke to Britain’s assistant men’s sprint coach Jon Norfolk who he knew from his time running the Australian high-performance program. This happened to be just weeks after Richardson had begun a relationship with Welsh cycling champion and Paris Olympic star Finucane.

By March Richardson was at the Hong Kong round of the Track Nations Cup and having secret meetings with British cycling boss Stephen Park. “It was an interesting time,’’ he told the UK Telegraph. “I was out in Hong Kong with Australia but sneaking off to have a little secret meeting, and then going back. But it was the only way I could do it. I wanted to know: ‘Is this going to be well received? Are people at GB going to want me there?’

Great Britain's Emma Finucane with her bronze medal following the women's sprint at the National Velodrome, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, on the sixteenth day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Sunday August 11, 2024. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
Matthew Richardson's girlfriend Emma Finucane won gold in the women’s team sprint in Paris and bronze in the women's sprint in Paris. Image: Getty

“And they were, you know, very positive about it, which gave me confidence.” In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, Richardson sold his car and other possessions so he wouldn't need to return to Australia and could do the dash to the UK. Richardson says he plans to move close to Finucane, with the blossoming romance potentially a factor in his decision to defect.

“Obviously, Emma and my relationship is very new, and you know, we’ve gone from doing long distance all year to now living in the same place,” Richardson toldTelegraph Sport. “We don’t need the added stress of moving in together full-time. We want to just take it slow and enjoy life, and not add any extra stress that doesn’t need to be there. We’re going to be living driving distance away from each other, rather than 16,000 kilometres. So that in itself is going to be very nice!"

The International Olympic Committee has a three-year waiting period, meaning Richardson will be eligible to race for Team GB at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. And he could face as long as two years on the sidelines for all international competitions for Great Britain if Australia decides to enforce a two-year non-competition clause.

AusCycling's executive general manager, performance, Jesse Korf, said on Tuesday that enforcing the non-compete is something being considered. "That is something that we would have to discuss internally because we obviously have a big say in that and we need to review that," he said. "On that same token, the AIS-slash-ASC is a big stakeholder in that they provide a lot of the funding. "So that would have to be a conversation to get to a joint decision before we can share that and start a conversation with UCI and Matt and British Cycling."

with AAP