Matthew Richardson kept his switch to British citizenship a secret for six months: 'I didn't want Australia to leave me at home for the Olympics'

Cycling Australia is furious with Matthew Richardson. Leading Dutch sprint contender Harry Lavriesen announced on Monday that he will no longer race for Australia, but for Great Britain. Australians They are now threatening a two-year suspension. What do the Telegraph, ABC Australia and Guardian show? Richardson made the decision earlier this year, but he deliberately withheld it for his own good.

The 25-year-old Briton (who has lived in Melbourne, Australia, since he was nine) has considered changing nationality twice before, as he reveals in TelegraphThe first was at the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and the second was at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London 2022. And in February, the ball finally got rolling after talks with John Norfolk – the British runners’ national assistant coach – during the Nations Cup in Adelaide.

Secret agreements in March
Discussions with Norfolk and Stephen Park followed in March during the upcoming Nations Cup in Hong Kong. Performance Manager In the British Federation. “I was there with the Australian team, but sometimes I would sneak out for small, secret meetings. Then I came back,” Richardson tells the British newspaper. He didn’t want to tell anyone. “It was the only way to do it. I had to keep it a secret to prevent them not selecting me for the Olympics.

Richardson defeated Jeffrey Hoagland earlier in the Olympic sprint championships – Photo: Cor Voss

The funny thing is Richardson had no doubt about it. I'm sure the FFA wouldn't have made that move. They were great, but he was. difficult“We sat together several times and had meetings about the programme that would follow after the Olympics in Paris. I was sitting there thinking: ‘Oh, this is going to be very difficult.’ I expect some people to be unhappy, disappointed, sad or frustrated. I understand that. I try to stay positive.”

With the Australian ABC Australia He goes a little further. “It's hard to have to hide information from friends and teammates,” he says. “Of course I understand that there will be some bitterness about this decision. But at the end of the day, this is my career and my life. Everyone has the right to their opinion. It's up to me whether I listen to it or not. Obviously, I chose not to do that. It's a free world, everyone can do and say what they want. I'm happy with my decision.”

Australian Association investigates steps
After Australia had won two Olympic silvers and a bronze, the decision came as a complete surprise. “There is disappointment about the decision, the process and the mystery of Matt’s circumstances,” says Jesse Korff in his book (Richardson, ed.). The GuardianHe is the general manager of the Australian federation. Korff and the federation are now investigating, along with the UCI and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), whether they can enforce the two-year non-compete clause.

Was Richardson acting in his own best interests? – Photo: Cor Voss

Korff has already announced that Richardson will “definitely” miss the upcoming world cycling championships in Denmark in October. According to the director, it is too early to say whether the association actually wants to impose a two-year non-compete clause on Richardson. “It is something we are discussing internally, because we have a major say in this and we need to review it,” says Korff. “The Australian Sports Commission is a big stakeholder for us because they provide a large part of the funding.”

This also pays for the programme Richardson has completed in recent years. British Cycling told the Australian federation they had “not proactively approached” the track runner. “However, discussions must have taken place between the two parties before Matt submitted his proposals to the UCI. That would have been at least three months in advance. It is very likely that such discussions took place between February and April,” says Korff. “But I don’t know what that was.”

Were there any Olympic consequences?
So Richardson feared Australia would not have selected him for the Games if he had indicated in advance that he would now be competing for Great Britain. “I don’t know what we would have done, it’s a very difficult question to answer,” said Korff. “We would certainly have considered the impact, the consequences and the opportunities for other riders. On the other hand, Matt was on an exceptional course and he performed exceptionally well in Paris. Only the AOC could have made that decision.”

Richardson, Lavresen and Britain's Jack Carlin on the podium after the sprint final – Photo: Cor Vos