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World-Class Richardson dominates men's sprints
Matthew Richardson has reclaimed the Australian elite men’s sprint crown dominantly at the 2023 TrackNats, defeating Thomas Cornish in the gold medal final.
Richardson’s third sprint national championship was a flawless display of unrivalled speed at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome, winning every match sprint over the two-day event after setting a new championship record for the flying 200m at 9.504 seconds on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old's turn of speed off running at the wheel in front of him was simply too much to handle for the rest of Australia’s sprinting elite.
Richardson said he made to work hard for the title despite there not being close calls at the finish line.
“I mean the effort was still put in despite them not being the closest races I’ve had on the line,” he said.
“Tom is no slouch, so I had to put in pretty hard against him in the final and Byron (Davies) as well in the semi.
“And whether it’s states, club races, national championships or world championships, it’s always the same process for me.
“I always come in on the day with my head screwed on and today was no different and it’s the same mindset the whole way through.”
The speed shown in Brisbane from Richardson signals a sharp return to the form he displayed at the tail end of 2022, when he won the UCI Track Champions League sprint title in style, ousting world champion Harrie Lavreysen.
Having that speed back warms the heart of no one more than Richardson himself, who was not at his best three weeks ago for the Jakarta UCI Track Nations Cup.
But with this performance, he said it was confirmation of what went awry in Indonesia.
“It’s pretty clear to me just how much of an effect the food and climate had on me in Jakarta,” Richardson said.
"I was struggling a bit with the diet and the food we had at the hotel.
“It wasn’t guaranteed in my mind that was the problem but now three weeks later with the times that I’ve been riding and how I’ve been feeling on the day, I think it is.
“It’s definitely something we need to get better at doing in the future in different countries where that might be an issue, so it’s all just good learning for us.”
South Australian James Brister filled the last step of the sprint podium with bronze.
Clonan survives challengers to win fourth sprint title in a row
Australia’s leading women’s sprinter Kristina Clonan has won her fourth sprint crown in a row in a fierce battle with rising star Alessia McCaig.
Clonan was pushed to the maximum in the gold medal final by 19-year-old McCaig, but the Queenslander showed her class to keep the teenager at bay, despite not being in top form.
The tussle between Clonan and McCaig is likely the first of many in the coming years and Clonan knows her supremacy over women’s sprinting will continue to become tougher to maintain.
“Alessia is taking strides so it’s awesome to have some competition in Australia,” Clonan said.
“It was really good racing and we’re going into Oceanias next week so it’s good to be able to race and put some tactics down as we move forward.”
Clonan has her eyes firmly set on a big performance at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and said she has already started laying the foundations to achieve that.
"I’ll peak in Glasgow for the world championships,” Clonan said.
“I’m in the crux of a pretty big block of training which made this win a little harder but I’ll take it.”
Clonan has elected to forego defending her 500m Time Trial title on Day 3 of TrackNats and will instead freshen up for a full tilt at the team sprint.
"I've chosen to put all my eggs into the team sprint basket with the Queensland girls to try and get that one back,” she said.
South Australian Breanna Hargrave finished third.
Watch all the night session action from the 2023 Auscycling Track Cycling National Championships on
