'It's actually happening' - Matthew Richardson set for GB debut after nationality swap

A dream that took root when he was a teenager is on the cusp of coming true for Matthew Richardson. On Saturday night, he will compete for the first time in British colours, representing his birth country at the UCI Track Champions League, after two Olympic cycles with Australia.

The track sprinter’s nationality swap came as a shock this August, announced less than a fortnight after he won two silver medals as an Australian at the Paris Games. “This is something that I wanted to do for a long time,” he told Cycling Weekly at the time. His first event as a Brit is now just one sleep away.

“I’m super excited,” Richardson said ahead of Saturday’s opening Track Champions League round in Paris. “Obviously Paris is going to be special, just being the first one, but [the] London [round] is really where it’s going to feel quite amazing.

“Every time I race there, like Commies [Commonwealth Games] or previous rounds of the Track Champions League, I’ve always had the most home support in the crowd than any other competition in the world.”

Born in Maidstone, Richardson moved to Australia with his parents when he was nine, leaving behind his British family, who have come to support him in previous London rounds of the competition.

The sprinter moved back to the UK following the Olympics this August, and now lives on the outskirts of Manchester.

“It’s been an interesting couple of months relocating and trying to settle into a new environment and the stresses and challenges that come with that,” the he said. “I was able to have a bit of a break after the Games and then get a solid 10-12 weeks training in, just to try and put myself in the best possible form for this.

“I’ve done everything I can, but I won’t really know how much of a toll that move has had on me until I start racing.”

In line with UCI rules, Richardson is ineligible to represent the GB national squad at major competitions until next spring, meaning he missed the recent Track World Championships. Riders compete independently of their national bodies at the Track Champions League, a competition the 25-year-old won on his debut in 2022, and has "loved every year" since.

“It’s something a little bit different from the normal Track Worlds or Olympics or World Cups. It’s another chance to get some experience and race some of the best guys in the world,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be really tough, as it should be, as it is every year. You don’t want it to be easy. You want to learn as much as possible for the races that really matter next year.”

Richardson will compete in this year’s series with personal sponsorship from Hope, the bike manufacturer who provide track bikes to the GB squad. The sprinter visited the company’s HQ in Yorkshire earlier this week. “It blew my mind,” he said.

“It was so cool to meet the people behind the project. I remember when the Hope video [for the Tokyo Olympic bike collaboration with Lotus] got dropped mid-2020, I watched it about 20 times. It just blew my mind how cool that frame was, and the wheels, and all that stuff. To be in those rooms in that video I watched was super surreal. A super cool experience.”

Richardson is now expecting a similarly awe-inspiring moment in London next month, when he’ll race as a Brit, in front of a British crowd, for the first time.

“This year, having the whole crowd behind me is going to feel super special. I’m super looking forward to it. It’s going to be a bit of a pinch-myself moment, [given] how long that I’ve wanted this for, and that it’s actually happening,” he said.

“I’ve just got to be careful and make sure that I really soak it in. It will only happen once, racing for the first time in front of a home crowd.”

London’s Lee Valley Velodrome will stage the final rounds of the Track Champions League on 6 and 7 December.

Matthew Richardson now writes a column for Cycling Weekly magazine, with his first instalment out this week. Subscribe to Cycling Weekly to follow the sprinter’s progress, in his own words, as he adapts to his new life and racing nationality.