From crying in the toilets to cycling world titles

“I’ve had quite a few pinch me moments that I never thought I’d get this early on in my career.”

Emma Finucane thought she’d “be waiting years” before calling herself a world cycling champion.

But the 21-year-old won gold in the sprint race at the 2023 World Championships, with her performances leading to her being described as the fastest woman in the world.

She tells BBC Newsbeat that it was the “pinnacle of my career so far”, but that her eyes are now firmly set on the Paris Olympics.

Her rise to this point hasn’t been without its challenges.

Before the final last year, Emma, from Wales, reveals she was crying in the toilets.

“When you’re so close to gold, it’s really hard sometimes,” she says.

“I wanted it so bad… and before the final, I was so nervous. Everything built up, the height of the pressure.”

But crying helped her “get it out”, she says, “and then I came back out and just raced and I literally left everything on the track”.

The world title was followed up with a gold at the European Track Championships in January.

Winning so much by the time you’re 21 invariably involves sacrifices, but Emma prefers to see it a different way.

“I don’t like to call them sacrifices, I like to call them choices,” she says.

She moved to Manchester when she was 18 to pursue her career and says being far from her family in Carmarthen can be difficult as well as missing out on some of the things her friends get up to.

“When you’re 18, 20, all your friends are at uni going out and I did enjoy that,” Emma says.

“But I also knew from when I was growing up I was quite dedicated and I wanted this really bad.

“So there is quite a lot I guess I’ve missed out on but in the long term I haven’t, because I’ve become world champion.

“It is worth it but it is hard.”

Emma’s cycling journey started with “a pink bike with tassels coming off it”, when she was aged eight.

Before she knew it, she was getting faster and her dad started taking her to the local velodrome in Newport.

“Obviously the pink wasn’t doing it,” she says.

Several upgrades later, she’ll now be using a “really fast bike” designed by F1 experts for the National Track Championships.

“It’s all about aerodynamics and how streamlined you are on the track.”

This includes everything from making the bike as lightweight as possible to tiny details like no dust caps on the tyres.

And it’s not just the bike, as Emma will wear tight fitting race suits, aerodynamic helmets and overshoes – but there’s one thing she won’t sacrifice.

“I love earrings – I race in them,” she laughs.

Emma is a favourite to make it for Team GB in Paris this summer but her position on the squad won’t be confirmed until later this year.

“[The Olympics] is big and you give everything for that,” she says.

“And you want to do that to have these medals and have these achievements.”

The British Track Cycling Championships is being held at Manchester’s National Cycling Centre until Sunday 25 February.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.