In the early evening of Wednesday, 9 August, Finucane was flat on her back on the track inside Glasgow’s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome for the second time in four days.
The emotions on each of those occasions, though, were quite different.
Having already been part of the Great Britain trio who set a world record in the team sprint final – only to be edged into second place when Germany went even quicker – Finucane had high hopes for her second event, the keirin.
However, a crash at the quarter-final stage left her on the boards in tears. Afterwards she said she left the track “so angry” and admitted to crying more than she expected.
Yet it was a disappointment Finucane used to fuel her golden success, as she flew around the track to set the best time ever recorded at sea level in her 200m qualifying ride.
She then won every match sprint as she swept her way to a first world title. It was a victory that came with more tears – even in between her two wins in the best-of-three-heat final against Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich.
“Loads of people don’t really know, but I had to go to the toilets to cry and sort myself out because I was so nervous,” she told BBC Sport Wales.
“The pressure, the expectation – you are in front of a home crowd and everybody is expecting you to win, especially being 1-0 up, and you’re coming into that thinking ‘right this is it’.
“You just have to take it all in, focus and get the task done.
“When I crossed the finish line it was such a relief, I was like ‘I’ve done it’. All the hard work, the training hours, all the what-ifs, what can I do, what can I not do, and it all just came together.
“It was literally like a fairytale and when I crossed the line, I was in disbelief.
“I put my hand over my mouth because I was like ‘oh my gosh, I’ve won’. It’s something I’ll never forget, it was such a special moment.”