Banned cycling defector Matthew Richardson's 'sweet' breakthrough after shunning Australia
Cycling defector Matthew Richardson has won his first national gold medals as a British rider six months after sensationally switching his allegiance from Australia to the old enemy and consequently copping a lifetime ban.
Richardson won three Olympic medals on the track in green and gold in Paris before shocking the Australian cycling fraternity when he revealed just days later that he was jumping ship to Great Britain, his country of birth.
He's now won his first national titles as a British rider at Great Britain's national track championships in Manchester, clinching victory in the individual sprint and team sprint over the weekend.
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He's now awaiting a chance to score triple gold in the keirin on the final day of the championships, to go with the seven national titles he won as an Australian athlete.
"I wouldn't say I've really dreamt of this day, but I kind of have in a way," Richardson told Cycling Weekly after winning gold in the individual sprint.
"Swapping nationality meant that I would race British nationals, and I've always watched it on YouTube on the replay."
Matthew Richardson contesting the Track Champions League in Paris in November. Getty
Looking at pictures of him riding in his new colours, he admitted it "feels pretty sweet".
In November, Australia's governing body of cycling, AusCycling, announced in a statement that Richardson was banned from competing for Australia, prohibited from using any of the governing body's resources and ineligible for any AusCycling awards. All three sanctions are in place for life.
Richardson rubbished the bans, comparing AusCycling's move to an employee leaving their job and later being told they're sacked.
The 25-year-old also said the statement was "just words on a piece of paper" that "don't hold any weight".
Matthew Richardson pictured at the Paris Olympics, where he won two silver medals and a bronze for Australia. Getty
Richardson was born in Maidstone, Kent but moved to Perth at the age of nine, before beginning cycling and developing in the sport under the guidance of Perth's Midland Cycling Club, the Western Australian Institute of Sport and AusCycling.
"GB has always been something that's kind of stuck with me since I was a kid [and] since I moved out to Australia, and then when I started racing for Australia it was always a thought in my mind that I could actually be racing for GB, so it stuck with me since then," Richardson told SBS in November.
"Midway through my career now, I figured now's probably a good time to do it if I was going to do it, and I thought I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't give it a crack and try to make the swap. So here I am."
