'I understand the seriousness of what has been raised' – Matthew Richardson issues statement after removal from Great Britain's Track Worlds squad

After British Cycling withdrew Matthew Richardson from the Track World Championships, the racer has issued an Instagram statement saying he will cooperate with the organisation's investigation.

British Cycling removed sprint racer Richardson from its squad on Monday after an internal investigation into "serious allegations of misconduct", according to The Times. The newspaper reported that the investigation is into 'alleged discriminatory posts and behaviour' when it broke the news on Monday.

Richardson was sent home from China, where the Track Worlds are ongoing in Shanghai, and he left Harry Ledingham-Horn, Ed Lowe and Joe Truman to compete in Great Britain's men's team sprint lineup.

On Tuesday, Richardson posted a statement on Instagram about the investigation.

"I understand the seriousness of what has been raised in recent reports about my withdrawal from the 2026 UCI Track Cycling World Championships," he wrote.

"British Cycling has said it looks into matters like this through its established procedures. I will co-operate fully with its processes. I assure everyone that I will do so properly, and appropriately and with contrition for the feelings of anyone who might be affected.

"Out of fairness to everyone involved, and on advice, like British Cycling, I will not be commenting further until any process is complete. I am deeply disappointed to miss the World Championships, and I wish the Great Britain team and every rider competing the very best.

"I ask that my family’s privacy is respected at this time."

Last week, British Cycling told The Times that "British Cycling takes any allegations of harassment, bullying or discrimination extremely seriously.

"Where concerns are raised, they are investigated thoroughly through our established procedures. Out of fairness to anyone involved in an investigation, we would not comment on any ongoing process."

Richardson, who had previously raced for Australia before switching nations, was among the medal hopefuls on the Great Britain team, having taken silver medals in the team sprint and individual sprint competitions in Chile last year.

The 2026 Track World Championships began earlier today with the British team taking part in the men's team pursuit qualifying. The team (Noah Hobbs, Henry Hobbs, Ethan Vernon, and Matthew Bostock) finished second behind Denmark with a time of 3:47.154 and will advance to the first round proper later today.