Watch Matthew Richardson and his fellow Australians compete at the AusCycling Track National Championships live via SBS On Demand from March 15-19.
Richardson’s journey first began, not on the bike, but on the balance beam at a local gymnastics club in England, where his weeks were split between primary education and over 30 hours of training.
Already competing by the age of four, such a “brutal” schedule was all the Maidstone native knew for 11 years before injury struck and left him at a career-defining crossroads.
"It was a problem with the bone in the elbow joint and it was getting overused," Richardson told SBS Sport.
"It needed about 18 months to recover which is just such a long time out of the sport. It’s such a brutal sport, we were training like 32 hours a week as 10, 12-year-olds. It’s super, super brutal and I think if I didn’t have the elbow injury, I probably would have still been doing it to this day.
"But I think, in that moment, I was keen on track cycling. I had been doing it on the only afternoon I had off from gymnastics, which was on a Wednesday, and I was excited for a change and excited for the opportunity."
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That opportunity was one Richardson pounced upon after moving to Australia, though it wasn’t until his second year as an Under-17 rider that he began to attract attention from the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS).
"I remember getting into WAIS and I was 52 kilos or something," he said. "I was pretty small but I had good body awareness, coordination and all that sort of stuff.
"I was pretty weak, to be honest. In gymnastics we’re functionally strong, we can lift our own bodies, swing around, no problem with anything arms. Legs? Terrible.
"It took me a pretty long time to start to move some solid weight in the gym but once I got it, I thrived with picking up technique and all that sort of stuff."
Unlike road cyclists, there is a greater emphasis on power for track riders which in turn stems from the structured balance between nutrition and weight training. Track sprinting in particular emphasises 10-20 second bursts of power.
Richardson’s disciplined approach and technical nous – both by-products of his gymnastic endeavours – only accelerated his physical transformation on the track, to the point where his eventual graduation from WAIS and debut at the 2019 World Championships all preceded his 20th birthday.
One would be forgiven for thinking the COVID-19 pandemic would have halted his progress in 2020, but, instead, it only motivated the South Australian-based sprinter.
"I thrived in that environment – I’ve always been good at training by myself," Richardson explained. "When COVID-19 kicked off, I set up a home gym and that was a pretty big year as well.
"2020 was when I made a lot of gains, I was really going well. Through the whole COVID-19 period, the only thing that was challenging for me was just the lack of racing.
"Coming out of COVID-19 last year and just doing lots and lots of races back-to-back really started to show (my improvement) by the end of the year."
The 23-year-old burst out of the blocks in his return to consistent racing and crowned last year with gold at the Commonwealth Games, gold at the World Championships, and overall victory in the Track Champions League.
It was an 'explosion' of sorts, according to the Olympian, but one he believes was a direct result of his consistency across the cycling calendar.
"I’ve said this to a lot of people and coaches, the biggest thing for me has always been consistent training," he said.
"Coming in every day and not missing a rep, set, exercise, track effort – you’re just there, showing up every day and getting it done.
"I’ve had experiences in the past where I’ve had about seven or eight weeks of consistent training, and I’ve just started flying. It makes such a big difference and that was basically my whole year last year."
For Richardson, training involves three gym and three track sessions a week, with the occasional road ride depending on seasonal needs such as recovery or fitness.
But while squats and standing starts certainly build muscle and enhance power, there’s one other component Richardson relies on to reach the next level.
"All the work we do in the gym is useless if we aren’t consuming enough protein," he explained. “You aren’t going to maintain that muscle mass if you’re not feeding your body.
"That is basically the main thing that goes through my head when it comes to nutrition. I’m constantly thinking, ‘hey, I haven’t had a protein meal or snack in the last two hours – I need to eat’.
"We can’t have breakfast and then nothing until lunch, (we need something) every two hours, like 20-30 grams of protein to keep it topped up. It all revolves around protein."
Richardson found perfect parity in his preparation last season and aims to do so again in 2023, albeit with a different focus as he seeks qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games.
"I think 2023 is going to be interesting because it’s almost less about the results and more about collecting enough points to go to the Olympics," Richardson said.
"Everyone wants to do well but a success in 2023, to teams and individuals, is qualifying for the Olympics or being in a position where you’re looking really good to qualify."
"I’ve got Nationals and Oceania Track Championships in a couple of weeks – I’ll look to go there and try win both of those, that will be a good points collection," he added.
"I love racing Nationals, winning the National title is something really special and I’ve never won Oceania’s individual sprint before so that will be a big one for me to tick off the list.
"And then Milton is two weeks after that so I’m really keen to go back and start stomping again… from there I think we have about 16 weeks until the World Championships, so we have a really good time-frame to start becoming a monster again – just 16 weeks of consistent training."
Winning the World Championships in Glasgow is high on Richardson's list this year, particularly after finishing second to Harrie Lavreysen in the men's sprint last time out.
The 11-time world champion has had the better of Richardson in recent encounters but famously fell to the Australian at the Track Champions League finale last December.
It was a moment Richardson hopes to repeat on the international stage in August, and it's one he believes he can achieve, providing he maintains the same level of consistency and preparation that's defined his career thus far.
"I think, if I can come in with good legs, good speed, I reckon I could take it off him – that’s obviously the goal," he said.
"I mean, what’s the point in not having that goal? I got second last year, there’s no point going there like, ‘I want to get second again’.
"It was awesome to get second, I’d never been that close ever in my life, but why not try and win the bloody thing?"
