As the Belgian racing team of world champion Julian Alaphilippe announced, the 27-year-old Osborne will contest a few races for the team as a so-called stagiaire until the end of the season.
"Being a stagiaire here means a lot to me. I always wanted to switch to cycling, but with rowing it wasn't possible to commit to it one hundred per cent," said Osborne in a team statement, adding: "Now that the Olympic Games are over and they were successful for me too, I can now focus on this completely."
Osborne, who lives in Mainz, won silver in the lightweight double sculls at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with his Krefeld team-mate Jonathan Rommelmann. "Joining Deceuninck-Quick-Step, the most successful team in the world, is the best opportunity I could have got," said Osborne.
"Swift" world champion as a recommendation
Last December, Osborne secured the title at the inaugural E-Cycling World Championships on the virtual training platform "Zwift". The native of Mönchengladbach had previously taken part in the German Road Cycling Championships twice, finishing eighth (2018) and sixth (2019) in the individual time trial.
"We saw Jason's physical abilities when he won the Esports Worlds. He confirmed this in our tests. We are very curious to see how this will translate into the race," said Deceuninck head coach Koen Pelgrim.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:210830-99-27962/3
