James Fouche – Competitive Cyclist

A College student from Year 7, James was a stalwart of the cycling team, taking on the captaincy of boys’ cycling in 2015. Whist he started out with the Saint Kentigern College Triathlon Team, he found that swimming ‘wasn’t my sort of thing’, however cycling was. A love of the speed of cycling channelled his energy in that direction in Year 9. Multiple success followed during the next five years while at the College, including competing in the UCI World Championship in Richmond, Virginia in his final year.

After graduating, he gained a second place in both the 2016 Oceania Road Race Championships and the Time Trial. A few weeks later he won the U19 National Time Trial Championships. Both those results helped him to be selected for the UCI World Championships in Doha, Qatar later that year, which proved a further learning experience. In 2017, James competed in the U23 Giro d'Italia which is one of the biggest races for U23's. After competing creditably in this Italian tour, he headed to Belgium where he won two prestigious titles and placed second twice, along with winning the National U23 Road Race. These top placings meant James was awarded the NZ Cycling Corp Memorial Trophy, the first recipient of this special award. The trophy is made from a cobblestone from the Kemmelberg Climb in Belgium and is mounted on a piece of timber from a WW1 trench where the NZ Cycling Corps fought – a significant trophy and memorable achievement. James said that it was special to be the first recipient and that he gained increased motivation for racing the event after learning about the history behind the trophy.

Because of his performances over the last year, he received a contract to ride for Team Wiggins in 2018. James says he is thankful for the support he received at the College, having Rick Faulding as the Triathlon and Cycling coach was definitely a big influence. At the College he also met his current coaches, Patrick and Tammy Harvey who coached at the College the first few years he was there and have remained his coaches since.