Britain’s male sprinters faced an early exit at the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai, held this month, following the absence of Matthew Richardson, who had been slated to compete in the three-man team sprint. Richardson, an Australian-raised cyclist aged 27, left the competition amid a misconduct investigation that surfaced publicly prior to the event.

The British team, comprising Edward Lowe, Joseph Truman, and Harry Ledingham-Horn, qualified fifth but were eliminated in the first round after being defeated by Australia. The team had aimed to build on their silver medal performance from the previous year but fell short without Richardson’s participation.

Richardson has expressed remorse, issuing a statement promising to show “contrition” to anyone impacted by the allegations of discriminatory behaviour that precipitated his withdrawal from the championships.

In contrast to the male team’s performance, Richardson’s girlfriend Emma Finucane secured a silver medal alongside teammates Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith in the women’s team sprint event, delivering a strong performance for Great Britain on the track.