Richardson unfazed by any Australia animosity over Team GB switch

GB's Richardson unfazed by any Australia animosityImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Maidstone-born Matt Richardson now rides for Great Britain, having switched from Australia in 2024ByAndrew Raeburn, BBC Sport England and Ben Watts, BBC Radio KentPublished39 minutes agoDouble Olympic silver medallist Matt Richardson says he has "moved on" from the furore surrounding his switch to Great Britain as he prepares to defend the Commonwealth Games cycling titles he won while representing Australia four years ago.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 at the Paris Olympics in 2024.As a result, he was banned for life from rejoining the Australia team and will face former team-mates in Glasgow when he rides for Team England."I tried to block out all the negativity, and all the noise," the 27-year-old 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.He 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.GB's Richardson wins historic European track goldPublished4 February'High school to Hogwarts' - will GB magic bring Richardson gold?Published21 October 2025Australia's Richardson switches to GB cycling teamPublished19 August 2024He has also twice broken the men's flying 200m time trial world record, becoming the first cyclist under the nine-second barrier.Richardson believes the greater resources and training facilities in Br...