In our development team’s inaugural season, Joshua’s class stood out, with third in Gent-Wevelgem, king of the mountains jerseys in the West Bohemia Tour and Tour of Rhodes, as well as the most aggressive rider award at the Tour of Britain. Although he missed out on an individual win, he was a consistent factor in several races and an exemplary teammate out on the road.

“I was very, very close to winning a few times, so there’s a small element of frustration because I think, if only I did this or that, but towards the end of the season, I got some quite good results and was feeling a lot more competitive. And that was a good way to end the year,” he said when looking back on that debut campaign with the team.

Victories in the U23 category are hotly contested and hard to come by, but Joshua’s consistency and resilience put him in positions to compete for top honours. Even when he missed out, he used the experience to improve and develop for the next set of races.

“I was second on the first stage of the Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste, which I could have won, but you can’t dwell on it. Then I came third at Gent-Wevelgem and was caught with about 2km to go. Towards the end of the season, I was really strong at the West Bohemia Tour, with third on the first stage. I did well in the TT, but then in the other stages I was caught with 400m to go, then 4km to go, and then 10km to go. There were a lot of close calls,” he said.

“Then at the Tour of Britain, I made sure that I rode as aggressively as possible throughout the race. We did a Belgian block of racing towards the end of the season, and I think I was a really good teammate in those races. I also picked up another third in Zwevezele Koers, and was caught again with about 1km to go,” he said.

With a solid winter of training behind him, Joshua is aiming to turn placings into victories in 2026. He’s rejoining EF Education-Aevolo as part of our 14-strong rider roster and aims to progress as part of our exciting development team, and of course, he has the ultimate aim of reaching the WorldTour by the end of his final season in the U23 ranks.

“I’ve developed a lot as a rider over the last year. Physically, I’ve improved, but the biggest change is that I’ve matured a lot. I’ve stepped up in lots of areas outside of just getting stronger on the bike, and that’s really important for a U23 rider. The team and I have really focused on improving the whole package. The team have been supportive of everything with that, so even the complete basics like sleep, nutrition and training more consistently, the team have helped me improve tenfold over the last year,” he said.

“I'm extremely happy to be coming back. Hopefully, I can keep developing and step up into the WorldTour. I want to hit the ground running as early as possible this season, and I want to be in the best possible shape for the first races, not just the ones in the middle or the end of the season. Of course, I know that I’m also chasing a WorldTour contract, but for now the aim is to just try and be in my best condition possible,” he said.

There’s potential for Joshua to gain valuable racing experience with the EF Education-EasyPost team this season, and he knows that if the call comes, he’ll be ready to dip his toes into racing with the WorldTour squad.

“I hope that can happen. I think that I might be doing a few early season races with the WorldTour team, so I want to try and impress them and influence a few people. On the U23 side, there are races that I want to do that are no-brainers, like the Giro d'Italia Next Gen and Tour de l'Avenir, but I just want to be in my best possible condition for every race. As I’m last year at U23, it’s not imperative, but I feel like I want to try and make that jump as soon as possible, when the team deems it possible or when I’m ready,” he said.

And Joshua is also looking forward to the collective effort that he and all his EF Education-Aevolo teammates have bought into ahead of the season. The new-look roster is packed with talent, with several other returning riders and a bunch of new faces. Morale and camaraderie were high at the off-season training camps, and Joshua was excited about the season ahead.

“I know a few of my teammates from last year, and then I raced against a few others. They all seem like an amazing bunch of lads, so I’m hoping that we can all win races and do our best as we can. I feel like the team has developed a lot since the start of last year, and it feels like we’re all moving in the same direction. I’m really looking forward to getting out on the road for EF Education-Aevolo,” he said.

We can’t wait to see you and your EF Education-Aevolo teammates in action, Joshua.