‘It was a really hard-fought battle’ – Britain’s Matt Richardson delivers rare defeat to Dutch sprinter Harrie Lavreysen to win European sprint title

At the UEC European Track Championships in Konya, Turkey, Great Britain’s Matthew Richardson defeated triple Olympic gold medalist Harrie Lavreysen in the men’s individual sprint event – the first sprint defeat for the Dutchman since 2024.

Richardson last beat Lavreysen in 2022 at the much lower-stakes UCI Track Champions League, and showed he was on flying form in Tuesday’s sprint qualifier, where he was the only rider to break nine seconds for the flying 200-metre test.

In the final, Richardson started from behind and overtook Lavreysen to claim his first European title – made possible by a switch of citizenship from Australia to Britain in 2024. Lavreysen has won four European titles in the individual sprint, as well as seven World titles in the same event.

“It was hopefully an exciting final for the people watching at home,” Richardson said. “I certainly enjoyed myself; It was a really hard-fought battle. I’ve been working on trying to beat Harrie for many many years and always fell a little bit short so it’s really satisfying to finally get on that top step.

“I’m really proud to be able to wear this jersey for the next year and I’m going to enjoy it a lot.”

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Great Britain celebrated a second gold medal earlier in the evening when Josie Knight won the women’s individual pursuit. Additionally, Knight set a new world record during the qualifying round on Wednesday, knocking a massive 4.181 seconds off of Vittoria Bussi’s previous record set at altitude in Aguascalientes, Mexico last year.

Knight’s new mark stands at 4:19.461. She went significantly slower in the final against Italy’s Federica Venturelli, but still easily claimed the gold medal.

Great Britain leads the medal count at the European Championships with six gold, three silver and two bronze medals.

After Lotte Kopecky won her second gold medal in the women’s points race, Belgium sits second in the medal table with three gold and three bronze.