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Leading track sprinter Matt Richardson, who shocked the cycling world in August when he defected to Great Britain after winning three medals, including two silvers, for Australia at the Paris Olympics, has been effectively banned from ever representing Australia again, after a review by the country’s governing body argued that the so-called “secret switch” conflicted with the “values of the Australian National Team and the broader cycling community”.

However, the AusCycling review concluded that any attempt to stop Richardson from competing for two years – a complete competition ban that was mooted in the wake of his defection – would be “legally unenforceable”.

The review, published this morning, also revealed that Richardson had attempted to take his Australian team bike and kit to Britain following the Olympics, but before he publicly announced his decision, a move AusCycling deemed an “unacceptable risk” to the squad’s intellectual property.

> Australia’s Olympic sprint and keirin silver medallist Matt Richardson set for surprise nationality switch to Team GB

In August, 25-year-old Richardson announced that he was moving to the Great Britain track team, after his application to switch nationality from Australia was accepted by the UCI.

Born in Maidstone, Kent, Richardson moved with his family to Western Australia when he was nine, maintaining dual citizenship in the process.

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

Since beginning to compete for Australia as a junior, Richardson has gone on to establish himself as one of the fastest men in the world, winning a world title in the team sprint in 2022, along with two Commonwealth golds that same year, before winning silver in both the sprint and the keirin, along with a bronze in the team sprint, at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

> Track cyclist who won three Olympic medals for Australia before “secret switch” to Team GB could face two-year ban from UCI, as AusCycling says Matthew Richardson would have been left out of Paris 2024 squad if they knew about defection plans

Following his defection – which AusCycling said was kept secret before the Games from teammates and staff, who only found out a few hours before the official announcement – Australian cycling’s governing body has been investigating the move, publishing its results this morning.

“The review, which involved a thorough investigation of Richardson’s actions, has determined he acted in a way which conflicted with the values of AusCycling, the Australian National Team, and the broader cycling community,” AusCycling said.

AusCycling noted the key findings of its review are as follows:

Richardson requested that the world cycling body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, delay official disclosure of his nationality change until after the Olympic Games. This request was supported by British Cycling.

He also withheld news of his decision from AusCycling, his teammates, and key stakeholders prior to the Games.

After the Games, but before announcing his decision, Richardson asked to take AusCycling property including a custom bike, cockpit, and Olympic race suit to Great Britain. This represented an unacceptable risk to AusCycling’s intellectual property. 

As a result of these findings, AusCycling concluded that Richardson will “not be eligible to rejoin the Australian Cycling Team at any point in the future”.

The sprinter is “also prohibited from using any resources associated with the Australian Cycling Team or its partners” and “will be ineligible for any AusCycling-related awards, effective immediately”.

AusCycling also said it “investigated the imposition of a two-year non-competition clause as outlined in Richardson’s athlete’s membership agreement”, but ultimately found that “such a ban was deemed legally unenforceable”.

 (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

The decision by AusCycling not to pursue a general two-year ban means Richardson will be eligible to represent Team GB following the European championships in February.

After missing the track worlds last month, Richardson made his debut for Britain, albeit as an independent rider, at the UCI Track Champions League on Saturday, beating Dutch sprint supremo Harrie Lavreysen in the sprint and keirin.

“I was really trying to soak in the experience,” he said after his GB debut.

“When the announcer called my name representing Great Britain, it was such a special feeling. It’s a dream come true really and to win every single race tonight was more than I could have ever wished for.”

(Alex Broadway/SWpix.com)

Following their review this morning, AusCycling’s performance manager Jesse Korf said: “These decisions underscore AusCycling’s adherence to the values of the Australian National Team and our broader commitment to the principle of Win Well.

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

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The UCI Cyclocross World Cup – now in its new, more compact format – returned at the weekend, as Fem van Empel and Eli Iserbyt both soloed to commanding victories in Antwerp yesterday, ahead of next week’s jaunt over to Dublin for round two.

And while there wasn’t much in the way of dramatic racing, this ‘cross season’s unfortunate penchant for idiotic actions by spectators continued, as one attention-seeking ‘fan’ – seemingly desperate to direct a heart gesture at a TV camera, while leaning his elbows over the fencing on the inside of a tight corner – got his comeuppance almost immediately, thanks to a perfectly executed shoulder check from Laurens Sweeck:

Pay attention to the oncoming riders, or get shoulder checked by Laurens Sweeck 😬

[image or embed]

— Katy M (@writebikerepeat.bsky.social) November 24, 2024 at 3:04 PM

And it’s fair to say that ‘fan’ picked the wrong set of shoulders to obstruct – look at the size of them, they’re huge!

Also, the look of disgust on the heart-sign-making spectator’s face makes the whole clip for me.

‘How dare this world-class racing cyclist ruin my moment on tele? MY moment?’

> “Don’t come to a bike race if you’re going to do this”: Cyclocross rider who stamped on rival’s bike has beer chucked on him by furious spectator

Sweeck’s brief encounter with a stupid fan wasn’t enough to stop him securing a strong second behind Iserbyt, thankfully, as he powered away from Michael Vanthourenhout to finish 17 seconds behind Belgian champion Iserbyt.

But spare a thought for poor Thibau Nys, who also collided shoulder first – this time with a wooden post, as he entered the pit area – before fading to 12th on the day.

Some shoulders are stronger than others, eh?