A year ago, he was still racing on the Asian circuit. Today, he is competing in his very first Grand Tour at the Giro d’Italia. Newly arrived at Groupama-FDJ United cycling team, Josh Kench has followed an unconventional path, retraced here in four chapters.
Beginnings in New Zealand
I started cycling when I was 13. At the time, the sport became really popular in my area, and we had a lot of success nationally with cyclists. My older brother got into it first, and like any little brother, I copied him and signed up as well. From the moment I began, I started to do very well nationally, always competing for top-3 placings at all the events I did. Then, during my junior years, the dream of racing in Europe and becoming a professional cyclist was born, especially from watching races on television. From then on, I kept competing at a good level as a junior, finishing on the podium at the New Zealand Championships, winning a stage at the Tour de l’Abitibi, and move into a new New Zealand team that was created when I entered the U23 category: Blake Spoke Pro Cycling Academy. Our first year, in 2020, coincided with the Covid pandemic. It was quite complicated, and as a result I raced very little that season.
A Difficult Arrival in Europe
In 2021, we moved to Belgium with the team, and for two years I raced in the continental division, mainly in Belgium and northern France. Those terrains did not suit my style the most, but it was also something I had to learn. On the one hilly race I would do each year, I managed to perform well, but then I would be back in Belgium doing kermesses… It was difficult to fully express myself. In 2023, the team obtained ProTeam status. We hoped it would be a long-term project, but unfortunately the team folded at the end of the year. That left me in a tough situation because I had raced very few events that suited me that year, and I had also been unlucky in those races, with crashes. So I started wondering what to do with cycling in general. It was definitely one of the hardest moments of my career.
The real problem was that I had never really had the chance to show my climbing abilities. At 19, I finished in the front group after a 10-minute climb at the Tour of Norway. The following year, I got second at the Lillehammer GP against strong climbers in a summit finish. I was convinced I could perform well in climbing races in Europe if I was in good shape. Deep down, I always knew I had never truly had the opportunity to prove it. I suspected it would be difficult to find another team. I sent a lot of emails, but doors close very quickly when you do not have results. I knew what I was capable of, but I did not have the race record to prove it.
The Asian Circuit to Bounce Back
I was in a critical situation, but I knew China was an option because many New Zealand and Australian riders race there. It was my only chance to get a little bit of money and continue racing. So a friend and I decided to head to Asia, and it probably helped not to start this adventure alone. I believed it could work out and that I could get noticed if everything came together and if I could reach the level I hoped for. My first team, Tianyoude Hotel Cycling Team, signed me because I had performed well at the Tour of Qinghai Lake a few months earlier. In 2024, I kept training and fixed a few health problems. In particular, I had my tonsils removed, which had been a major issue because I was constantly getting sick. After that, I noticed I could improve quite dramatically on the bike. It was a big year to train properly and become a better cyclist. Although the results didn’t come, I knew my climbing abilities were developing.
In 2025, I changed teams and joined another Chinese continental squad, Li Ning Star. There, I had a good manager and good friends. I was able to do some great races, especially early in the season at the Tour of Sharjah. There was a nice summit finish where I took my first UCI win, before adding the overall classification a day later. From then on, everything worked! At the Tour of Bostonliq three months later, I managed to win the GC thanks to an aggressive move on a flatter day, which maybe comes from racing in Belgium for so long! For the rest of the season, I was mostly there to help my teammates, because there are a lot of flat races in China. Then, during the summer, Groupama-FDJ United contacted me, and a few weeks later I signed my first WorldTour contract!
Joining Groupama-FDJ United
For sure, I am proud to have reached the WorldTour considering my journey and where I come from. I am not sure many riders have made the transition from the Asia Tour to the WorldTour! I definitely hope I can do well this year and show that there are also “kids” in that system who belong at this level, even if they may not receive as much attention as those coming through more traditional pathways. I am really proud to have returned to Europe after a couple years in China. It is quite a rare path. My story shows just how tough it is to get there. The team has definitely given me the opportunity of a lifetime, and I truly hope to make the most of it.
I started 2026 pretty open-minded. A lot of things have changed, and will continue to change, thanks to the team’s support, which is a level of support I never really had. With the training and everything else, I do not know how far I can go. That is what makes this year exciting, but I also know how incredibly tough, sometimes brutal, the WorldTour can be. People told me stories, and I have already experienced it for myself. The first challenge is to fit back into European cycling, and then become a key rider in the mountains. If my form is good, I hope to bring some results to the team, but the priority remains adapting and proving that I belong here. You have to take things one step at a time.
