Matt Richardson has been withdrawn from the Great Britain team for next week’s track world championships in Shanghai amid allegations of serious misconduct.
The 27-year-old, who switched allegiances from Australia after the Paris 2024 Olympics, had been seen as one of Britain’s strongest medal hopes, with chances in the team and individual sprints and the keirin. But after a Times story, which reported that there had been concerns about his behaviour from other riders, he is now in the process of leaving the team’s training base in China.
“British Cycling can confirm that Matt Richardson has been withdrawn from the Great Britain cycling team squad for the upcoming 2026 track cycling world championships in Shanghai, China,” a statement said.
The Times reported that when it had originally gone to British Cycling with its story it was told: “British Cycling takes any allegations of harassment, bullying or discrimination extremely seriously. Where concerns are raised, they are investigated thoroughly through our established procedures. Out of fairness to anyone involved in an investigation, we would not comment on any ongoing process.”
British Cycling refused to go into further detail about the investigation when contacted by the Guardian. Richardson could not be reached for comment.
Richardson, who was born in Maidstone before moving to Perth when he was nine, missed out on an England debut at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer after he crashed in a keirin race shortly before he was due to fly to Scotland. However the cyclist, whose partner is his fellow British cyclist Emma Finucane, was expected to be a central figure for the British team in China and at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
When asked previously about his change in allegiances, Richardson said: “I grew up watching Chris Hoy race on the TV. Whenever I’ve raced in the UK, it felt as though I was racing in front of a home crowd. It made me think: ‘What would this feel like if I was racing for Great Britain?’ That’s something I want to find out. I want to chase that feeling.”
