Emma Finucane is optimistic that the world’s widest velodrome could help her achieve her dream of winning a gold medal at Paris 2024.
“It’s significantly larger than other velodromes,” said the Team GB rider about the Siberian pine track located at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Versailles. “It’s a meter wider than any other track, which allows for increased momentum off the banking from the top.”
The 21-year-old from Carmarthen, who currently holds the titles of world and European women’s individual sprint champion, is regarded as one of the potential stars of the velodrome at these Games.
Finucane is confident that the eight-meter-wide track, which she describes as “perfect for sprinting,” might provide her with extra speed during the keirin, team sprint, and individual sprint events in Paris. However, she noted that the track’s design may intensify the usual fight for position, making it “a bit more of a battle.”
Having secured a silver medal in the team sprint at the 2023 world track championships in Scotland, she also shone at the 2024 European championships in Apeldoorn, repeating her individual sprint triumph from Glasgow.
Not all velodromes are identical, and this can subtly influence race strategies. Nevertheless, Finucane is well-acquainted with the velodrome located west of Paris, which is near Elancourt Hill, the site of Tom Pidcock’s second Olympic mountain bike victory on Monday.
The Welsh athlete competed on the track during the 2022 world championships, where she and her teammates, Lauren Bell and Sophie Capewell, won a bronze in the women’s team sprint. “I’ve ridden the track at one world championship. The sprinting will likely be quite fast,” she mentioned.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the center of the velodrome served as a “vaccinodrome,” while the French national track team trained there. Like her fellow Team GB track cyclists, Finucane spent time at a holding camp in Wales before departing on Wednesday for the first day of competition on August 5.
Although she admits to feeling too anxious to focus on a gold medal, the excitement is unavoidable for any Olympian participating in their debut Games.
Finucane celebrates her sprint gold victory in Glasgow last year. She enters Paris 2024 holding the world and European titles. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters
“I don’t want to pretend that I wouldn’t love to win gold, but it’s going to be a challenge. As long as I do everything right, anything is possible, whether that leads to gold or not. It will unfold as it will. I just want to make everyone proud.”
Finucane views her Olympic competition as the pinnacle of her career. “I strive not to let it overwhelm me, but I am genuinely anxious, regardless of the outcome,” she shared.
In a relative sense, she transitioned to sprinting later in her career, moving from road racing at the age of 16. “During races, I often stayed back and saved my energy for a sprint finish,” she recalled. “I was that cyclist who lingered and frustrated others, before sprinting ahead to win.
“I didn’t have much knowledge of sprinting in my early years until I was encouraged to join the sprint program, but I aspire to motivate young girls to engage in cycling and to demonstrate that women can be strong. I would love to inspire young women.”
In this regard, Finucane embraces British Cycling’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity while promoting social mobility. A gold medal from her at the expansive track of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines would significantly contribute to that mission, but currently, she emphasizes that she “just wants to enjoy the experience.”
