Matthew Richardson wins team sprint bronze at World Championships

WAIS cycling graduate Matthew Richardson won team sprint bronze at the 2020 UCI Track World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The team sprint bronze, Richardson’s first at a major Championships confirmed qualification for Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Australia’s chances were dealt a blow before competition even started with 2012 World Champion Matthew Glaetzer a late withdrawal due to injury. The experienced Glaetzer was replaced by 20-year-old Thomas Cornish who made his debut.

The change in line-up saw a change in order of the three person team with Richardson the traditional started moving to the third wheel with Cornish slotting in to man one and Rio Olympian Nathan Hard in second.

An impressive fourth place finish in the opening round with a time of 42.996secs slotted them safely in to the second round. Another consistent performance of 43.044secs against Poland saw them earn a spot in the ride off for bronze.

The trio saved their best for last in the final as the trio stopped the clock in 42.829 seconds to claim bronze by half a second over France.

It was otherwise a quiet year for Australia at the World Championships as they missed a gold medal for the first time in more than a decade. Cameron Meyer and Sam Welsford finished 15th in the Madison, with Meyer also claiming sixth in the omnium. Richardson also finished 18th in the individual sprint.