OSBORNE Jason

General
CYCLING AMBITIONS
In 2020 he said that he is planning to switch focus from rowing to professional road cycling after the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He finished sixth in the time trial at the German national championships in 2019, following an eighth-place finish the previous year. "Cycling is my second favourite sport. The main difference, in my opinion, is the length of a race. In rowing it's almost always only two kilometres but in cycling it's often full gas for many hours which gives you quite a different sensation of pain. [But] I would say that rowing is more painful overall. After the Olympics in Tokyo you will definitely see me on the bike. Everything is being done behind the scenes to make the transition to cycling as smooth as possible." (sueddeutsche.de, 06 Apr 2020; lsb-rlp.de, 01 Apr 2020; worldrowing.com, 01 May 2019)

VIRTUAL CYCLING WORLD CHAMPION
He won the men's race at the International Cycling Union's [UCI] inaugural cycling 2020 Esports World Championships. "I do know how to hurt myself a lot, and obviously Zwift [virtual cycling] is not really comparable with outside cycling. Here [there] is so much more going on. It's the experience that wins in Zwift. Obviously, I took that strength from rowing to cycling today [to win the world championship] and it worked really well." He has been involved in virtual cycling for several years. "It is very realistic. At the beginning of the climb you notice how the resistance of the pedals increases. I actually enjoy it more than cycling outside. There are so many possibilities. Certainly your training is more effective than cycling outside." (zwift.com, 10 Dec 2020; neues-deutschland.de, 29 Mar 2020; CyclingClaude YouTube channel, 21 Nov 2018) 

NEW PARTNERSHIP FINDS SUCCESS FAST
He began partnering with Jonathan Rommelmann in the lightweight double sculls boat in 2019. They won gold at the European championships in their first international race together that year, followed by first place finishes at the World Cup regattas in Poznan, Poland, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and concluded the year with bronze at the world championships in Linz Ottensheim. "Our partnership was a natural fit, which is something you don't see all the time. Jonny is a real fighter and tough as hell. I can always rely on his fighting spirit. We are technically and physically very strong and this, combined with the harmony between us, is rare. We have a good relationship outside the boat and are good friends." (lsb-rlp.de, 01 Apr 2020; rudern.de, 18 Jul 2019)