Richardson withdrawal leaves GB men disadvantaged as Shanghai world championships begin; women take silver

Great Britain’s men were eliminated in the first round of the men's team sprint at the World Track Cycling Championships in Shanghai on 14 October 2026 after Matt Richardson was withdrawn, while the women claimed silver after losing the final to hosts China.

Richardson, 27, was pulled from the competition on Monday amid allegations of misconduct and said he would co-operate with a British Cycling investigation. The withdrawal, which also affected his prospects in the individual sprint and keirin, cast a shadow over British preparations in Shanghai.

Emma Finucane, who is Richardson's partner, partnered Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith to finish fastest in qualifying for the women's team sprint. That trio beat France in the head-to-head rounds but were defeated by hosts China in the gold-medal race, leaving Great Britain with the silver medal.

The men's trio of Joe Truman, Ed Lowe and Harry Ledingham-Horn qualified fifth but were beaten by fourth-placed Australia in their opening head-to-head. Truman commented on the circumstances, saying: "We came with a bit of a last-minute change, obviously," said Truman. "We all said this morning we're here just to ride our bikes. "We're on the back foot a bit but let's just put our best foot forward, put a time on the board at the start of Olympic quali and we got a time to be proud of. "None of us are riding in ideal circumstances but we're professional athletes and so it's what we train to do - we train to race when it's not perfect - so I think we did OK."

On day one Britain progressed in the team pursuit qualifiers, with the women's side fastest and the men's side second fastest. In individual track action Abigail Miller finished 17th of 24 in the women's scratch race.

Truman concluded by stressing the team's outlook, saying: "We're looking ahead to the next couple of years and think we're in a great spot."