James Ball wins the Elite Performance of the Year award at the 2019 Welsh Cycling Awards dinner. The public voted throughout the past week, and it was Ball who came out on top ahead of Geraint Thomas, Elinor Barker and Ben Mould.
Emma Finucane takes home the Colin Thornton Junior Performance of the Year award after her impressive performances at the Junior European and World Track Championships.
After a very successful season, Welsh and GB Junior Academy rider Finucane has been recognised for a standout year.
The nine-time British Champion has certainly made an impact this year and has stepped-up considerably. At her first ever UEC Track Juniors & Under-23 European Championships, which was held in Ghent, Finucane led the way with the Team GB medal count, securing three medals across the week.
After winning two silvers in the individual sprint and then again in the team sprint with her GB partner Charlotte Robinson, she followed up with a gold when she took the honours in the 500m TT.
Later this year, Finucane was back in action at her first Junior World Track Championships, Frankfurt, Germany. Finucane went onto achieve more success, securing bronze medals in both the individual sprint and 500m TT – making her first experience of a World Championships an extremely positive one.
Emma Finucane said: "It's such a honour to receive this award, it means so much as it shows I've been recognised by Wales and the wider cycling community."
James Ball wins Elite Performance of the Year
James Ball became World Champion in the 1km TT Kilo event at the 2019 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships along with his pilot Pete Mitchell, securing a superb PB with a time of 59.866 and a silver in the sprint with another PB of 9.90 in the flying 200m in Apeldoorn.
“Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me, I really do appreciate it, especially when being up against so many other successful Welsh cyclists. I’ve had a fantastic year doing what I love and this is a very special way to round it off.
"It's an absolute honour, especially with the calibre of athletes, so I'm very happy," said Ball.
