Track sprinter who beat Lavreysen faces backlash from Australia over nationality switch

Here’s the gist: Richardson saw more opportunities to challenge Lavreysen under the well-funded British cycling federation and decided to switch nationalities after the Paris Olympics. This was a major blow for Australia, which lost one of its top track sprinters. Richardson, however, was born in the UK and moved to Australia when he was nine years old.

Following the first round of the UCI Track Champions League, AusCycling issued a statement on Monday: "AusCycling has finalised a review of the circumstances which saw track cyclist Matthew Richardson announce a change of nationality from Australia to Great Britain following the Olympic Games in Paris. The review has determined he acted in a way which conflicted with the values of AusCycling."

The investigation revealed that Richardson had asked the UCI to delay announcing his nationality switch until after the Olympics, with the support of British Cycling. He also withheld this information from AusCycling. Additionally, after the Olympics — but before going public with his decision — he asked AusCycling to allow him to take certain equipment, including a custom bike, cockpit and his Olympic race suit, to the UK.

In response, AusCycling imposed sanctions. "Richardson will not be eligible to rejoin the Australian Cycling team at any point in the future. He is also prohibited from using any resources associated with the Australian Cycling Team or its partners. Richardson will be ineligible for any AusCycling-related awards, effective immediately."

The federation also requested a two-year suspension, but this was not approved. Richardson is currently barred from competing for Great Britain until early next year but can continue to race under a neutral flag in the UCI Track Champions League.