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Matthew Richardson has hit back at critics who have questioned his loyalty, after he shocked the cycling world by announcing his defection to Great Britain within a fortnight of his triple medal-winning performance at the Paris Olympics.
Australian cycling was left reeling when Richardson took to social media to announce his move to Team Great Britain, hot off the heels of having won silver for Australia in both the men's keirin and sprint, plus a bronze in the men's team sprint in Paris.
Richardson was born in England but moved to Australia at the age of nine and has spent his entire cycling career in the Australian system.
Richardson says critics are entitled to their opinion but "it's my career and it's my life". (AAP: Dave Hunt)
The move prompted a wave of criticism, but Richardson said he remained comfortable with his decision.
"I obviously understood that there would be a bit of bitterness around this decision, but at the end of the day it's my career and it's my life," he told ABC News.
"I'm just a kid chasing a dream.
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's up to me whether I want to listen to it or not, and I've obviously chosen not to.
"It's a free world, and they can do and say what they like. I'm happy with the decision I've made."
Richardson put his decision down to what he described as a "strong emotional connection" with his country of birth.
"When I grew up I was watching people like Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny win gold medals at the Olympic Games for GB, and those sort of memories really resonate with a kid. It kind of burnt itself in my brain, and that has just kind of stuck with me ever since," he said.
'Good return on investment'
Richardson's defection has prompted questions surrounding his loyalty after Australia's investment in his cycling career.
Former Australian cyclist Katherine Bates told The ABC Sport Daily Podcast the decision had left many disappointed.
Loading..."Some who are feeling personally quite let down, because they were blindsided by it. Others who are feeling a little bit ripped off because supporting him over the years has come at the direct cost of supporting other athletes," Bates said.
But Richardson had a simple response.
"The investment that was put into me over the last few years in Australian cycling, I feel like I made a good return on that investment, winning two silver medals and a bronze medal at the Olympic Games for Australia," he said.
Richardson admits he started the process of changing nationalities well before Paris, forcing him to keep his secret from teammates, coaches and officials.
Richardson says it was difficult keeping his decision from his teammates. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
"It's hard when you have to keep information like that from your friends and teammates, so yeah it was really hard, but I didn't want them to have the burden of having that and keeping that under wraps themselves," he said.
A clause surrounding cyclists who switch nationalities means Richardson will now be forced to spend some time sitting out of international competitions, including the next World Championships, but for exactly how long is not yet known.
"Missing big international competitions isn't obviously ideal, but I think that's why I had to do it when I did it, so I missed the least amount of them possible," Richardson said.
Two-year ban could apply
Australian cycling's governing body is exploring whether Richardson can be banned from international competitions for two years under the clause.
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"There's disappointment around the decision and the process and not knowing around Matt's circumstances," said Jesse Korf, who is AusCycling's executive general manager of performance.
"He will not compete at the upcoming World Championships [in October].
"But the non-competition duration and clauses, that is being interrogated and looked into at the moment together with the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) and ASC (Australian Sports Commission)."
Loading...Korf said it was "too early to tell" if AusCycling wanted to enforce any two-year non-competition clause.
"That is something that we would have to discuss internally because we obviously have a big say in that and we need to review that," he said.
"On that same token the Australian Institute of Sport/ASC is a big stakeholder in that they provide a lot of the funding.
"So that would have to be a conversation to get to a joint decision before we can share that and start a conversation with UCI and Matt and British Cycling."
ABC/AAP
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