GB's Richardson unfazed by any Australia animosity
· Yahoo Sports
Olympic medal-winning cyclist Matt Richardson says he has "moved on" from the furore surrounding his switch to Great Britain - as he prepares to defend Commonwealth Games titles he won representing Australia four years ago.
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Richardson, who was born in Maidstone, Kent, but moved to Australia at the age of nine and maintained dual citizenship, changed his cycling nationality just days after winning two silvers and a bronze in Paris in 2024.
As a result, he was banned for life from rejoining the Australian team and will face former team-mates in Glasgow as he races for Team England.
"I tried to block out all the negativity, and all the noise," Richardson told BBC Radio Kent.
"I experienced the way they decided to handle it at the time, and moved on as quickly as I could.
"Ultimately, it has zero effect on me. If, for some reason, the British public didn't take it well, that wouldn't have been very good, but it wasn't the case."
Richardson said his results since joining the Team GB squad have justified his decision.
The 27-year-old won two silver medals in sprint and team sprint at the 2025 Track Cycling World Championships and later clinched the European sprint and keirin titles.
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He also twice broke the men's flying 200m time trial world record, becoming the first cyclist to break the nine-second barrier.
Richardson believes the greater resources and training facilities in Britain have allowed him to progress his career.
"No expense is spared when it comes to trying to achieve success, and it really feels like that," he said.
"We fly with more bikes, and more equipment - anything we need to perform at our absolute best at a given race.
"I remember doing World Cups for Australia, and I would only fly over with my race bike. I fly to races now with about four to five bikes.
"I've got spares, I've got bikes for team sprint, I've got bikes for sprint, I've got a road bike, I've got a bike that I just warm up on for activations. Those things really make a difference, when a final comes down to a thousandth of a second."
'I use it as fuel' - Richardson on target on his back
Matt Richardson may have to compete on the day he flies in for the Commonwealth Games [Getty Images]Richardson won gold in individual and team sprint events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and says he is not worried about having a target on his back.
"I use it as fuel," he said. "I always find motivation in something, whether it's trying to hunt someone down, trying to be better than someone or trying to stay better than other people."
However, his busy schedule may play a part in how many events he can take part in at the Games.
"I'll be travelling from [racing in] Japan so it's nip-and-tuck on which events I can actually make," Richardson admitted.
"If I was to race in the team sprint, I will fly in on the day and literally go straight to the velodrome and race.
"Whether or not that's the best thing to be doing physically, I'm undecided yet, but there is theoretically time for me to race everything.
"My plan currently is to race in the team sprint, keirin and the sprint. The kilo is undecided. If I do race everything, the goal is to win everything."