Flying Finucane ready to reign in rainbow jersey at Track Champions League

PALMA, Spain : Emma Finucane was flying under the radar when she raced in last year's UCI Track Champions League but a year on she returns to Palma's velodrome unmistakable wearing a rainbow jersey after becoming Britain's latest sprint world champion.

The 20-year-old Welsh speedster blasted to gold at the world championships in Glasgow just over two months ago - ending her country's 10-year wait for a women's sprint world champion.

She has not raced competitively since that memorable night in the Chris Hoy Arena, but will return to the boards in Mallorca on Saturday needing no introduction.

The UCI Track Champions League, with rounds in Palma, Berlin, Paris and two in London, features many of the top sprint and endurance track cyclists and Finucane is relishing the challenge of backing up her Glasgow heroics.

"Last year was a bit of a shock to the system as I didn't really know how it all worked," Welsh rider Finucane told reporters at a press conference ahead of the opening night.

"Coming in this year it's obviously a bit different and coming in as world champion I'm really excited to race and try new things and get back on the boards."

Finucane's whirlwind rise means she is already being tipped as one of the favourites for gold at next year's Paris Olympics. The last British woman to win the gold in the sprint was Victoria Pendleton at the Beijing Games in 2008.

One of her rivals in Paris will be Canada's reigning Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell who will be up against Finucane in Mallorca on Saturday, while keirin world champion Ellesse Andrews from New Zealand will also be on the start line.

In the often-tactical discipline of track sprinting where victories sometimes are decided by the width of a tyre, Finucane knows she