‘High school to Hogwarts’ – will GB magic bring Richardson gold?

World track cycling championships in 2025

Location: Santiago, Chile, October 22 through October

Matt Richardson didn’t choose Manchester over Australia for the weather, lifestyle, or traffic.

Instead, he focused solely on British Cycling’s “magic.”

He says, “The Australian program is like high school, and the British program is like Hogwarts,” in the best way.

When he announced he would switch allegiance from Australia to Great Britain, the country of his birth, the 26-year-old track cyclist, a three-time Olympialist at the previous year’s Games, sent shockwaves through the sport.

The sprinter quickly found a home at British Cycling’s high-tech headquarters after landing on British soil at the beginning of 2025 when the weather was “colder, greyer, and darker”.

With all this magic occurring, it’s incredible. It’s a bizarre place to be. He tells BBC Sport, “I can remember my first couple of weeks there being like wow.”

No stones are left unturned, as the saying goes, defines this place. I consider it very fortunate to have [experienced] two utterly different programs, and I believe having them as a real strength in utilizing two completely different philosophies or mindsets to try to find the quickest solution.

Since the swap, Richardson has been doing so well. He broke the record for the fastest cyclist under the nine-second barrier in the flying 200m in August, breaking the previous record in Konya, Turkey, to reach 8.857 the following day.

He is completely honest about his accomplishments.

The World Championships in Santiago, Chile, are what Richardson and the rest of the British squad are scheduled to attend on Wednesday.

He has won five world titles, but he has never won an individual gold medal at that level, as is the case with the Olympics. Harrie Lavreysen, a Dutchman who has won five Olympic medals and 16 world titles, has always been a hero.

When asked whether moving to the United Kingdom will help him close the gap with his “biggest rival” Richardson responded, “I think so.

I haven’t gained any slower in my training since my last training session. I have everything I need to become the best athlete possible.

Has it improved my cycling skills? Yes. Has it given me a little more perspective than I did a year ago? Yes.

I’m not sure whether that will lead to me beating Harrie.

“Every time I compete, I always aim to win.” I don’t put in the necessary effort to finish second in training.

Emma Finucane, her girlfriend and team-mate, won three medals at the same Olympics as Richardson did in Chile. Finucane became the first British woman to do so since 1964.

The women’s team won the first-ever gold medal in the event, joining Britain’s Katy Marchant and Sophie Capewell, for the first time.

She flew to Perth, Australia, with Richardson for two months for a “complete switch-off” following the Games and the previous year’s Worlds, where she won the individual sprint title and the team sprint gold medal.

She replaced her bike with a surfboard, and she immediately “felt so present,” but when she returned home, she realized she was no longer cycling.

Finucane is confident she can keep her distinctive rainbow jersey while riding all three sprint events this week. She maintains her goal of collecting a significant gold in the chaotic keirin, which she holds in Santiago.

Things are more ambiguous during the team sprint. Capewell chose not to compete this year while Marchant just had her second child.

With the addition of championship debutants Rhianna Parris-Smith and Iona Moir, Finucane, who is 22 years old, will be the team’s most experienced head.

A new team is a new challenge, according to Finucane. We are well-adjusted. Although the dynamic is unique, the depth of our relationship is what makes it exciting.

“The program currently has about eight girls, whereas it used to be just Katy,” she said. We won the Olympics through that internal battle.