BRUSSELS (Reuters) – World Tour team Deceuninck–Quick-Step have announced that UCI Cycling Esports World Champion Jason Osborne will join their team as a stagiaire — an amateur who rides with a professional team — until the end of the season.
Osborne came to the attention of team bosses by winning the 50-kilometre route on the Esports platform Zwift, beating several professional riders to claim glory at the inaugural Esports Worlds last December.
It is not the German’s first foray into elite sport.
The 27-year-old won a gold medal at the 2018 World Rowing Championships and also picked up a silver in the sport at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
“Cycling has always been part of my training ritual in rowing. I have done a lot of base training on the bike since 2012, when I bought my first road bike, then over the years I became more passionate about it, did some races, got into the competitive side of the sport and tried to develop,” Osborne said.
“I am aware there are a lot of things I need to learn, but I want to take it one step at a time and see what I can achieve.”
(Reporting by Joseph Walker; editing by Clare Fallon)
