Matthew Richardson: What are the rules of cycling allegiance changes?

Different governing bodies have different rules in terms of switching nationality, but cycling’s governing body the UCI allows changes of nationality for three reasons.

Firstly, if nationality is lost for whatever reason (for instance, if a rider becomes a refugee). Secondly, if a rider was a minor at the time of first applying for a licence. And thirdly, if a rider holds dual citizenship and the first two points don’t apply. In this case athletes can apply to change nationality up to twice in their careers.

So Richardson, who was born in Britain to British parents and retained his UK passport after moving to Australia aged nine, could in theory switch back to Australia again.

Are there precedents?

Plenty. Various Russian riders switched nationality after Russian and Belarusian national teams were banned from UCI events in response to the war in Ukraine.

Mikhail Iakovlev switched from Russia to Israel and Pavel Sivakov from Russia to France. Others do it for competitive reasons. Former world champion Jordan Kerby switched from Australia to New Zealand in 2018 in an attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

How does the process work?

The rider makes an application with the support of the nation to which they are moving. In this case, British Cycling helped with Richardson’s application to the UCI. The process began around April time. A request was made for the conclusion of the process to be after the Paris Games as it would not have been ideal for either Cycling Australia, British Cycling or indeed Richardson had it concluded before then.

Are there penalties?

According to UCI rules, if a rider has already represented a country at elite, U23 or junior level, he or she will not be allowed to participate in the next edition of the world championships and the continental championships for their new country.

In the case of a second change of nationality, the rider will not be able to participate in the next two editions of the world championships and continental championships. Richardson has switched now to get his missed world championships out of the way early in the Los Angeles Olympic cycle.

He will miss this year’s worlds in Ballerup, Denmark in October, and next February’s European championships in Limburg, Belgium. He will, however, be allowed to ride in the Track Champions League which concludes in London in December.

What has the reaction been like?

AusCycling’s executive general manager Jesse Korf, admitted it was “disappointing” and “surprising” that Richardson would be leaving a program that had delivered great personal and national success. “The announcement of Matt’s switch is disappointing and came as a surprise,” Korff said. “We also understand that the desire to compete for a country one was born in can bring forth strong emotions.”

British Cycling’s performance director Stephen Park said he was looking forward to integrating Richardson into the sprint programme under head coach Sir Jason Kenny. “Matt will only be adding to [the] strength in depth and I am excited to see what his presence adds to the talent we already have as we start to turn our attention to the new four-year cycle towards LA 2028,” Park said.

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