The double Olympic medalist Matthew Richardsonformer representative of theAustraliafound himself at the heart of a controversy after changing his sporting nationality to represent the Great Britain. Indeed, the sprint champion was banned by his country. The Australian federation has imposed sanctions on Richardson who will no longer be able to represent Australia, use resources linked to the Australian Federation and be eligible for awards AusCycling. “They're just words on a piece of paper, really, and they don't really hold much weight for me.” he replied during a press conference of theUCI Champions League.
Video – Richardson at press conference before the 2024 Champions League
“I have always been respectful to AusCycling”
“I found it quite interesting. I guess they just wanted to deliver one last blow, one last word. But in the end, I left ​​three months ago,” he declared. “I'm not really sure where this confusion came from, but I thought it was pretty obvious that by wanting to ride for Great Britain for the rest of my career, that meant I didn't want to ride for the Australia for the rest of my career It's almost like you quit your job and three months later you're told, “Well, you're fired!” explained the athlete.
As part of the examination ofAusCyclingthe national body said it was considering imposing a two-year non-compete clause, but found such a ban was “legally inapplicable”. Richardson was not worried about it either: “These are just words on a piece of paper which, again, carry no weight. As they also said in this review, they are going to have to go back and look at this clause, which simply admits that they're going to have to change it or get rid of it or whatever, because it clearly doesn't make any sense.” The track rider then tried to ease the conflict. “I have always been respectful to AusCycling and am very grateful for everything they have done for me over the years”the conclusion Richardson.
Related News :