Matthew Richardson breaks world record, UCI rules it out

Brit's flying 200m time voided after exiting the track during his effort

Matthew Richardson completing his flying lap at the Konya Nations Cup
(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix)

Great Britain’s Matthew Richardson thought he had broken the world record in the flying 200m time trial on Sunday morning, before his effort was scored off by the UCI.

The Olympic silver medallist clocked 9.041 seconds in qualifying for the men’s sprint competition at the UCI Track Nations Cup round in Konya, Turkey, holding an average speed of 79.637km/h. His time took 0.047 seconds off the world record (9.088 seconds), set by Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and appeared to nudge the benchmark closer to the elusive 9-second mark.

A UCI communiqué read: "Matthew Richardson recorded a time of 9.041 in the 200m, which was originally acknowledged as a new UCI World Record.

On Saturday, China’s Yuan Liying broke the world record in the women's event, becoming the first woman in history to go below the 10-second barrier. The 19-year-old stopped the clock at 9.976 seconds in her flying lap, a speed of 72.173km/h. Like Richardson, Liying went on to win the gold medal.

This weekend’s track competition in Konya was the only UCI Nations Cup round of the season, and marked the first major international event held at the Konya Velodrome, opened in 2022.

The wooden track in Konya boasts a steeper banking than most Olympic velodromes. Its turns are pitched at 45.5°, more than 3° steeper than the standard, and 1.7° steeper than the Paris Olympic velodrome, which is known to be a good hunting ground for records.

"It's a pretty special feeling," Richardson said on Sunday evening. "I've won World Cups before, so it's not a new feeling, but it's still one I'm very proud of. It was a long day here today – the sprint day's always a really tough one being the third day of racing – but it was hard for everyone. I was just glad I got it done in the end."

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Tom Davidson
Senior News and Features Writer

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.

An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.

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