Matt Robertson’s rapid rise from first wobbles in Greenwich Park to Team England debut is nothing short of remarkable. The para-cyclist, who only first learned to ride by freewheeling down the slopes of Greenwich Park in 2012, is now a medal-winning force for Britain and set to make his Team England debut in Glasgow this summer.
It’s fair to say Team England’s Matt Robertson is a quick learner. The para-cyclist has become a medal machine for Britain despite only first stepping on the pedals when freewheeling down Greenwich Park in 2012. And this summer, he will make his debut for Team England in the Commonwealth Games, heading to Glasgow for the C1-3 1km time trial and individual pursuit.
He said: “It's really special, because it's the only time you are separated off from being Great Britain to just representing England, and it's such a successful team that you want to carry that through. I watched Chris Hoy on the telly at London (2012), and that was kind of the lightbulb moment where I thought, ‘you know what, I really want to do that.’ At the time, I had no idea about cycling and the velodrome and I just threw myself into it. At that stage, I couldn't even ride a bike, so it took quite a while for me to learn. I took myself off down to Greenwich Park, which was the local one to me, and I would get some momentum down the hill because the starting point is what I can do. That was a unique experience, probably one that others won't have had to do because everyone's disability is different. My disability affects my whole side, so it's not just an arm problem, but a whole balance issue. But once I had mastered that, I was hooked.”
The 27-year-old suffers from hemiplegia, a paralysis of the right side of his body, meaning he sits in the C2 classification for those who can ride a standard bicycle. Robertson also suffers from epilepsy and has done an enormous amount of campaigning, completing the Epilepsy Society’s Challenge 100 and setting up a podcast to raise awareness of the disease. At the 2024 Paralympics, he clinched bronze in the C2 pursuit, then added two further medals at the Road World Championships. He is also a two-time medallist at the Track World Championships.
He said: “The more I understand and take in that I'm doing it, the more I get really excited for it. It makes me think back to Paris, which is the first major competition I'd say where it opened my eyes to what performing at that level was like, and I can only get excited about those memories and those feelings and know that's going to be what it's like when I do race in Glasgow.” Team England are Ready to Win at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Keep up to date on teamengland.org.
