British cyclist who was brutally wiped out by rival claims he has received NO apology and is lucky to be walking after crash ended his Commonwealth Games dream

Team England cyclist Matthew Richardson says he has received no apology and is ‘lucky’ to be walking after being wiped out by a rival before the Commonwealth Games. 

Richardson was slammed off the track by Japanese cyclist Kento Suzuki while competing in the Keirin World Series in July, leaving the velodrome in an ambulance.

The 27-year-old won gold for Australia in 2022, before ‘defecting’ to England, claiming it was like ‘Hogwarts’ compared to ‘High School’.

He was favourite to retain his gold in Glasgow but never got to take part after the horrifying crash, which the Aussies made fun of. 

Richardson was unable to walk for four days after coming away with a broken scapula and a heavily bruised hip.

‘If I’d landed in a slightly different way, I might not be walking,’ he told The Times.

‘I was just stuck to the floor, my whole right side just felt like it was on fire. But it could have been a lot worse. Given how the crash happened, coming away with the injuries I had was probably pretty lucky. 

‘I was whisked off in an ambulance, I was gone. I haven’t spoken to him, I don’t intend to speak to him, that’s that.

‘A line was crossed that day, for sure. We understood the risk, as the international racers coming in to race Japanese keirin, we knew it was argy-bargy. But there’s a difference between argy-bargy and intentionally taking a wider line to hit someone off their bike.

‘It’s pretty disappointing that that can happen in keirin racing, that a rider has decided to put another rider’s safety at risk like that. We do understand the risks, but that was definitely a step too far.

‘The rehab’s been all right, the hip recovered pretty quickly. The shoulder has taken a bit longer, given how much I use it sprinting on my bike. This is the first time I’ve broken anything. 

‘I’ve been quite lucky, when I have crashed I’ve seemed to be able to roll out of it or crash in a good way, potentially stemming from my gymnastics background [he was a promising junior gymnast in Australia before switching to cycling as a teenager]. This was definitely the worst crash I’ve ever had.’

Australia’s representatives were unsympathetic at the time.

‘I think maybe he got his Hogwarts invitation left in the mail,’ joked cyclist Leigh Hoffman. 

The pair were previously team-mates Down Under.

‘It was horrible, I’ve seen video of the crash, it’s pretty serious,’ added Hoffman. ‘I would have loved for him to come here and race and see how Danny [teammate Danny Barber] and I stack up. It would have been great if he stayed in Australia, but his heart was obviously never always in it – so good riddance.’

Fellow Australian Ryan Elliott added: ‘We checked his passport for his lineage, so he’s good. It [the rivalry with the British] has definitely grown a lot since the … defection. Definitely it’s there with the defector himself. This one is sweet.’

Richardson had been due to compete in the team sprint, keirin, and the sprint in Scotland.  

He won two silver medals for Australia at the Paris Games in 2024, but controversially switched his allegiance to Team GB just days later.