'As a little girl I didn't know what sprinting was' - Emma Finucane on her path to becoming world champion

A breakthrough year brought a rainbow jersey for the 21-year-old. She takes Cycling Weekly behind the scenes of her success

Emma Finucane holding a gold medal
(Image credit: Richard Butcher/Future)

Emma Finucane was awarded Cycling Weekly's Female Rider of the Year for 2023. This exclusive interview originally appeared in the magazine on 7 December. Subscribe now and never miss an issue in 2024. 

In the minutes before Emma Finucane became sprint world champion, she stood inside the toilets of Glasgow Velodrome, crying. The situation was overwhelming. One more race, one more win, and the gold medal would be hers. “I’d never been in that position before,” she tells Cycling Weekly. “I was so nervous, but I wanted it so bad. It was such a weird emotion. I felt all week, actually, that I had something weird in me.”

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