Matthew's Profile

A graduate of the Great Britain Cycling Team development programme, versatile C2 rider Matthew Robertson has produced a series of encouraging results at international level and will make his Paralympic debut this summer in Paris, targeting the individual pursuit on the track, and the time-trial and road race on the road.

Born in Greenwich, Robertson suffers from Hemiplegia in the right side of his body, meaning he is partially paralysed on his right side, resulting in a loss of function, balance issues, and reduced power from the right side. This made it difficult for him to learn to ride a bike, but with hard work and dedication, he mastered the art at the age of 13.

He progressed through the ranks in his teenage years, winning the Youth National Championship road race jersey, and five medals – three gold and two silver – at the UK School games in 2015, taking the overall omnium win on the track. He also claimed gold in the time-trial and road race events at the same competition the following year and won a number of national titles in his age group. During this period, Robertson began suffering with seizures caused by epilepsy and had to learn to manage his training and competition schedule around this.

Following his strong performances at youth level, Robertson was noticed by the Great Britain Cycling Team and selected for their development programme, and after graduating the programme,  made his world-level debut at the 2019 track world championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.

There, he performed admirably, finishing fifth in the kilo and 12th in the individual pursuit in an event which also saw him break the C2 flying 200m world record.

That year, he set new personal best times in both the kilo and individual pursuit at the 2019 UCI Manchester Para-cycling International, an event where he also won gold in the mixed team sprint, alongside two legends of the sport, Jon-Allan Butterworth MBE and Jody Cundy.

In 2021, a bronze medal at the UCI Para-Road World Cup in Ostend, Belgium was a promising result and, missing out on Paralympic selection, he continued to work on his progression with a spot on the team for Paris 2024 at the forefront of his mind.

His achievements in 2022 would have kept him high in the esteem of the selectors, as he was able to take home two medals from the Para European Championships in Austria, a silver in the road race and a bronze in the time-trial. After being involved in a road traffic collision which saw him take many months out for recovery a year later in 2023, Robertson competed in a range of events at the home world championships in Scotland. At the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow just missed out on qualification for the final of the individual pursuit, but was able to finish in a creditable fifth position in both the scratch race and the omnium. At the road events in Dumfries and Galloway, he finished fourth in both the men’s C2 time trial and road race, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal to Belgium’s Ewoud Vromant in a final three-up sprint for the line.

So far in this Paralympic year, Robertson has continued to impress, winning gold at the British national championships in the mixed team sprint alongside Cundy and Blaine Hunt, and the following month putting in a strong performance in the omnium at the world championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, picking up a bronze medal in the combined event. This summer will see the young para-cyclist make his Paralympic debut, where he will hope to continue on his upward trajectory.

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