Sgwrs Ar y Beic | Manon Lloyd chats to Olympic Champion Emma Finucane | S4C

Cyfres newydd lle mae’r cyn-seiclwraig broffesiynol Manon Lloyd yn cwrdd â rhai o sêr mwyaf y byd seiclo yng Nghymru. Yn y bennod yma mae Manon yn sgwrsio gyda Phencampwr y Byd a Olympaidd, Emma Finucane. Mae Emma yn wreiddiol o Gaerfyrddin ond erbyn hyn wedi ymgartrefi ym Manceinion. 

Former professional cyclist Manon Lloyd is on a mission to meet to some of Wales’ best cyclists. She starts by chatting to World and Olympic Champion Emma Finucane. Originally from Carmarthen, Emma now lives in Manchester and discusses with Manon how she reached the top of the sprint cycling world.

My name is Manon Lloyd. I’m a former professional cyclist and now
part of the S4C Cycling team. Over the next few months I will meet
with some of the best Welsh cyclists. And get to know them a little bit better,
over a chat on the bike! Today we are going to meet a World Champion,
an Olympic Champion who also started… ..cycling at the same club as me, the Towy Riders.
We’re going to meet Emma Finucane. Helo Manon, good morning! I’m good thank you! Thank you so much for having us. That’s alright, come into my home. I spotted something
which I don’t actually know what it is, but it has a Great
Britain cycling badge on it. Is it what I think it is? It is what you think it is? Can I see? Can I have a nose. Go for it. Open it! They actually used to be in socks. So this is an upgrade. Oh my God, they’re so heavy. Everyone says that when they pick them
up, they’re like, oh these are quite heavy. Put that around your neck and that
will weigh you down. They’re 500 grams each I think. Especially with all of them
on at the same time. There she is. That is so shiny. That is incredible. Matty has three as well so he’s
just wearing them around. That would be heavy! Going into the Olympis
what were your expectations? That’s a big question. For me, going into the Olympics as
a world champion was quite scary in a way. It created more expectation. People kind of knew who I was more, and were like,
oh she can win or things like that. And yeah that was amazing to have that
confidence behind me and have people like, have confidence in me to win
and do these things but I also went into… ..it wanting to win as well. Honestly that
first day when we won gold… ..and then to go to sleep and go again
for the next like five six days… ..and to try and win
individual medals was, yeah, it was intense
and it was scary, but it was exciting. Even now I’m like,
oh my gosh, that was crazy. I cried a lot of the time. But yeah, it was an amazing experience
and I can see why people want to… ..like crave that experience of the Olympics
and I just want to like, do it again. But today we’re not on the track. We’re going out for a road ride.
Which you don’t do very often. No, I spend a lot of my time on the turbo. Just because it’s easier
to stay in my zones, but I do enjoy going on the road,
so I’m excited to take you out… ..and go on a ride with you,
it’ll be really nice. Get some coffee and cake? Yeah exactly. Right, you ready? Ready. Let’s go! It’s beautiful around here. It is nice.
It’s nice and quiet. Which is very different to Manchester. You would not think we’re in Manchester. No, that’s true. So when you started cycling. How did you kind of get into that sprint? Have you always been a sprinter or? I was like, you know when you’re… ..like in a bunch race and like,
there’s a type about… ..that doesn’t do much. And then they sprint, that was me
I really get annoyed Everyone would get annoyed… ..like you don’t do any work,
why you not pulling. It’s called tactics Yeah and then I just sit there. And sprint but I didn’t know
what sprinting was. I was just like, well I can’t keep
going if I’m helping so. I just did a lot of road racing. And then went on to the track
and I did endurance Race got actually. I did TP, scratch. Me and Sophie Lewis were
Madison champions. And I feel like when you’re
kind of that age, you all just kind of do the same
thing that is sprint and endurance. I didn’t even know what sprinting was. I think Monica and Matt had a conversation
and Matt was like, I want Emma to come sprint. So I was like, I really want to
continue doing road and… ..sprinting and they were like,
are you sure? And I was like well yeah,
because I hated the gym. Did you? Yeah, I still do. I hate it! Why? Because it’s boring. I love riding my bike. That’s why I love racing.
I love seeing progression. I love going fast. In the gym I just couldn’t see… You couldn’t go fast. Yeah basically. I just couldn’t get into the groove of it. I was continuing on this road team
and doing sprint and then I started going… ..worse than the road because
I was doing gym. And I was like right, I need to
give this sprinting a go. So I cracked on with it. And yeah, that’s kind of where I won… ..my first European champs, when I was 16. And I was like this could be for me. How long have you been in Manchester now? So I moved up in 2021, just turned 18. So four years. Four and a yeah, four years. How was that?
It’s a big move to make. It a big move and
I’m from Wales as well. So like from where I’m from like
Carmarthen is like a town. It’s quite, yeah, it’s like not many
people to move to a big city when I’m 18. I remember when I moved up, I didn’t know how to cook
chicken properly, I didn’t know how to use a washing machine,
I used to make like, chicken salad. And Milly, my house mate was like,
you can’t fuel off that. You need something else. You need to mix it up! I learned pretty quickly and like,
you need to be quite efficient. When you’re tired from training, you need… ..to have done your washing or… Little things like that, food shop, Have you got food in you’re fridge? It’s on you. And I think as an athlete and
moving away from home, it was really good for me,
the help that was here. My gym was here,
my coaches were here. I had to move here,
but very different. Do you get to go back to Wales often? Not as often as I’d like to. Like leading up to the games, I think I actually went home
like once or twice. It made me quite sad. And I think like I said… before the training, and it’s nearly
and the drive down to Wales… ..is quite long,
it’s 4 and a half hours, 4 hours. And for us sitting in a car
for that long, to go down for two days… ..you kind of want a week of it. But this year, I’ve said to my coach,
I need to go home more, I need to see my family… ..more, they’re so important to me. And yeah, the years go by and you’re like… ..I need to spend more time with
my family, it is important to me. I love going home,
seeing the views and like just being, yeah, it’s where I’m from. Do you ride on the track? No, no. I went back home after the Olympics
and I took Matty there, he’d never like… ..been to Carmarthen or Wales. Even thinking about it now,
I just love going home, and I… ..will do it more often. Is it quite a special place? It is special 100% all that. No sugar. On that note, shall we get a coffee? Yeah, let’s go get coffee. Did you learn any Welsh in school? Yeah, I did in my GCSEs I did Welsh, but I was not very good. Can you hit me with
any Welsh right now? Okay, my name is Emma. And I live in Manchester. I don’t really know. Can you say I like cycling? I like cycling! So I have a Welsh analysis called Rhys James. And he’ll message me in Welsh
and I’m like… ..I don’t know what you’re on about. It is a really cool language,
I wish I was more fluent in it. But minimal. Minimal Welsh. No you know the important bits… ..but can you order a coffee? I don’t know how you order.
How do you order? Can I have?
What is can I have? Can I have a coffee? Can I have a coffee?
I reckon I can say it, but I just don’t know what you’re saying.
is the Welsh National anthem. Do you know the Welsh National anthem? Yeah, yeah I do. Then comes the really high bit! I went to this Commonwealth Games Day and it
was unreal and we all sang the anthem. And I’ve never sung the anthem… ..as like on a podium. So at the Commies, that’s my motive. I want to sing the anthem on the podium.
If I win. That will be the only opportunity
you’ll ever get! How special is that? I was singing because we all sang
and I was like, the only opportunity. You get goosebumps don’t you? Yeah it’s pretty cool, it is special. This is nice. So this is what it’s like
being a road cyclist. I know, I need to get used
to this. Stop for coffee, sitting in the sun. Gorgeous. I could get used to
this life to be fair. To is very nice. It is very nice. I guess you don’t probably get to relax
on a bike ride very often. As I feel like when you’re on
the track is full gas full on like… ..especially in sprinting… ..it’s every time you get on that track
you have to be so switched on. Yeah, massively. Like this for me is really nice. Getting on my bike… ..and just like taking in the fresh air
and not having to think. And I feel like on the track
my approach is, you have your process, you have your thing to do, you have so many seconds to do it
and it is zero to a 100 and you come off… ..and then you need to rest for 20 minutes
and then you do it again. And there’s not much time to, I guess,
enjoy just spending time on your bike… ..and being outside and drinking
coffee, and it is quite go, go, go. And that’s something I’ve had to learn… ..being part of this… ..sprinting world in this sport
is how to get in the right headspace, how to focus, how to accept
that it is all or nothing. Or if something goes wrong in a race
like how do I learn from that… ..instead of being like, oh that was rubbish,
or let’s just move on it’s… ..how you learn it for the next one
and you don’t get very long to do it. So how do you manage that? Like the being so intense
in a really intense environment… and how do you like manage that to
make sure you’re in the right headspace? Yeah, it’s been such a big learning
curve for me. I’ve managed it through crying… ..and I’ve managed it through, yeah,
cracking and making mistakes. But I think now for me,
something that I’ve learned really… ..that helps me focus,
that helps me have that… ..because I go to the the start line
and I’m doing three laps, and if I make a small mistake
like that the race is won or lost and… ..you don’t really have many opportunities
as a sprinter to race again, or the Olympics is every four years,
Worlds is every year. So you don’t have that long. And for me, process has really helped when I’m nervous,
when I feel like I don’t know what to… ..do, I come back to the processes of like,
what can I control? And that’s… ..maybe a certain tactic or a certain thing
in a race that I can control. And that’s kind of what I stick to.
But it changes every time. And I’m still learning. This year you now have your partner Matty… ..on the squad with you. How is it? How is it having him? Obviously he was on the Australian team
and has now come to Great Britain and I guess… ..just being in the same squad is probably
a little bit of a different dynamic. How is it being with your
boyfriend in training sessions, in races. How do you manage it? Yeah it’s obviously different… ..like having your partner… ..in your professional space
and like in the same discipline. And I see him every day. We do the gym together.
We’re on track together. And I wasn’t sure like I say, I didn’t know
how it would be having a partner… ..working with you all the time. But we get on very well,
like it’s such a cool environment. And like the people around
us, understand we are professional… ..at the end of the day.
I’ll come into gym and crack on… ..and do my session, and he’ll do his session
and same on the track. And he’s helped me quite a lot. Sometimes he’ll be like,
How you doing this effort, or we speak about cycling,
like sometimes after training. And it’s nice to have that… ..when someone sees what you’re doing… ..and understands like the pain
you’re going through afterwards. He’s like, how was your session? Or I can speak to him as well.
It is nice, like having my partner… ..there and it’s something we got used to
and is pretty easy now. But it is cool and it’s nice that
he’s on my team now. We haven’t been to a race together yet,
so that will be quite interesting. Maybe hopefully the World Championships. So that’ll be quite interesting in
how we work in that environment. But yeah it’s pretty cool. I guess you are still so young and you’ve
achieved so much in your career already. I feel like some people would be like, I’ve achieved everything and I’m
ready to retire. And I happily would, I’m really content with what
I’ve done. You could retire now and be happy. Yes! But you’re not retiring now! No I’m not no! I’m not retiring. What is. Like. What do you want to achieve in your career
now going forward? Yeah, there are so many things
I want to achieve and I’m really proud of… ..like what I have achieved already
and like also the person I’ve become whilst… ..doing that and I’ve grown so
much from 19 year old Emma… ..at the Commonwealth Games. I was so young, so naive, and didn’t
really understand the whole world of track… ..cycling and now I’m a little bit more wiser
and I think I’m really proud of that side… ..of me. But looking ahead, looking forward, I can’t wait to compete at the
Commonwealth Games next year. Singing that National Anthem. For me as a 19 year old girl going… ..to my first Commonwealth Games, that’s
where I found my feet in the sport. That stage gave me
the opportunity to be like, this is what it’s like
competing on a higher level. That was kind of my springboard into… ..becoming world champion,
becoming the European champion, and for me… ..going into it as a more experienced
athlete is really exciting. I have a bit, I kind of know who the riders are… ..and like what it’s like to
have been to an Olympic Games. What it’s like competing at a games. And I feel more confident,
which is really nice. I’d love to do better than I did
last time. And I’d love to be at Los Angeles. Which is kind of crazy because
we just finished Paris. I say just finished,
it was a year ago! And it will come around really quickly. But I think, I want to learn what I have from
Paris in terms of the mental side of it. That for me was, that was huge. And like I want to learn
how to manage that a bit more. And over the seven days… ..and yeah, just be a different person
to who I was at Paris and that excites me. But off the bike as well. I want to… ..learn new things I think,
and like grow myself… and explore a bit more outside the sport
and which really excites me. So yeah, that’s something
I’m really open to. And yeah, there is more to
life than riding my bike… ..and I think I’ve also learned
that whilst growing up. So it’s having that balance
which is really, really key. Well thank you so much for coming
out on the road bike ride. I loved it! We should do this again! Yes we should! Well, best of luck with your
training and races coming up as well. Thank you. Thanks.