E-Sports World Champion happy to have given up road cycling and World Tour - "I wouldn't say slavery, but like they were in too much control"

Jason Osborne has one of the most unusual careers in pro cycling. At a younger age he was a professional and world-class rower, and then turned to cycling with e-sports and the rise of online platforms such as Zwift during the pandemic. In this phase he unearthed an immense talent, but two years after turning pro he retired from the sport and... Has won the E-Sport World Championships once again.

The German rider is certainly a standout in the world of cycling. He won the 2020 E-Sports World Championships bringing him to the spotlight, earning him a stagiaire stint with none other than Soudal - Quick-Step soon after. From 2022 onwards however he found his place at Alpecin-Deceuninck.

In a team of sprinters and classics riders, he found freedom as a climber. He has had some interesting results as a pro, but mostly rode as a domestique for his leaders in the bigger events. He found himself in the rough position which is not often discussed outside of the peloton - that of a domestique, with little power over his calendar, schedules, and prioritizing being present in races instead of focusing for very specific goals like the big leaders.

"You have to jump whenever they want you to. "It always felt like, I wouldn't say slavery, but like they were in too much control. It's at a point where it's not worth it," Osborne admitted in the Virtual Velo podcast. "It's not worth the risk of crashing. I didn't like it when you got a call, 'Can you please do this race now?' and you'd just planned to go somewhere on a trip or whatever, and they call and say, 'We need you here.'"

This position within the Belgian team proved to be draining for him, and according to him also limiting his ability to achieve results. "I wanted to gain control over my life again. I was just in that spiral of not enjoying it anymore and wanted to get out," he adds. Osborne has since raced his final event for Alpecin at the Tour of Qinghai Lake in July and announced his retirement from road cycling in September. 

At age 30, and after such an unusual uprising, it could be the end of his time as a pro cyclist. But that's not the case... "Since I made the decision, I've been a way happier person. I feel I regained my life. It was definitely the right decision". Osborne has returned to the discipline where he's climbed up the ranks in cycling, E-Sports, and has once again won the World Championships last week in the UAE.