Matthew Richardson has broken his silence after shocking Australia by defecting to Great Britain, and the Paris Olympic silver medallist had a harsh message for his critics.
The 25-year-old’s decision to stop wearing the green and gold has angered Australian sporting fans, with fellow cyclists also criticising the move.
Australia is now considering whether he can be banned from international cycling races for two years following his shock defection to Britain.
Richardson, who ran in Paris keeping her election secret, lashed out at her critics on Wednesday.
“Obviously I understood there would be some bitterness around this decision, but at the end of the day it’s my career and it’s my life,” he said. alphabet.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It’s up to me whether I want to listen to it or not, and I’ve obviously decided not to.”
There has been speculation that money was behind Richardson’s move, but the English-born star has denied this.
“Growing up, I watched the likes of Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny win Olympic gold medals for Great Britain, and those sorts of memories really resonate with a kid,” he said.
Matthew Richardson has a strong message for the many critics who have criticised him for making an unexpected switch to Great Britain after competing for Australia (pictured) in Paris.
The 25-year-old English-born star has rejected claims he defected solely for financial reasons and hit back at another Australian rider who said the funding that helped him succeed would have been better spent on athletes loyal to their country.
“It stuck in my brain and has stuck with me ever since.”
Australian cyclist Katherine Bates criticised Richardson, saying her “shocked” teammates feel “cheated” that funding that was due to him could have been used to support athletes who remained loyal to their country.
His response was forceful.
“The investment that’s been made in me over the last few years in Australian cycling, I feel I’ve gotten a good return on that investment, winning two silver medals and one bronze at the Olympic Games for Australia,” he said.
He went on to explain that he kept the impending change a secret from his fellow Australian riders and officials in Paris because he didn’t want them to “have the burden of having it and keeping it a secret.”
Australian cycling authorities are now pushing for him to be banned from racing for two years.
Richardson won two silvers and a bronze in Paris and says that represents a huge return on the investment Australia made in him.
“There is disappointment around the decision and the process and not knowing Matt’s circumstances,” AusCycling executive general manager of performance Jesse Korf said on Tuesday.
Korf said an investigation was underway into whether a two-year non-compete clause could be applied to Richardson.
“He will definitely not compete at the next world championships (in October),” Korf said.
“However, the length of the non-competition and the clauses regarding it are currently being studied and analysed with the UCI and the ASC (Australian Sports Commission).”
Korf said it was “too early to say” whether AusCycling wanted to enforce any two-year non-compete clause.
“That’s something we would have to discuss internally because we obviously have a lot of say in this and we need to review it,” he said.
Australian cycling star Katherine Bates (pictured right) said the defection “shocked” the team and left some athletes feeling “cheated”.
‘In this same sense, the AIS (ASC) is an important player, since it provides a large part of the financing.
“So we would need to have a discussion to come to a joint decision before we can share it and start a conversation with the UCI, Matt and British Cycling.”
Richardson was born in Maidstone, England and moved to Australia at the age of nine.
British Cycling, which has three times the financial budget of AusCycling, told Korf it had not “proactively reached out” to attract Richardson.
Instead, the 25-year-old secretly contacted the British.
“There would have had to have been discussions (with British Cycling) before Matt submitted his case to the UCI, which was done at least three months ago,” Korf said.
“It is very likely that there were discussions between February and April, but I do not know their nature.”