The mindset and numbers behind Jason Osborne’s third world title.
Image: UCI
Jason Osborne is the face of elite cycling esports. Few could argue otherwise. Even some fringe “fans” know the Olympic rowing guy who won his first world title on Zwift in 2020. When he wasn’t prepping in the lightweight double skull, he cross-trained on Zwift and on the road. The German earned silver at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic rowing regatta.
His inaugural esports world title got him a contract with UCI WorldTeam Alpecin-Deceuninck as a stagiaire. Despite flashes of promise – including riding deep in the break at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023 – he never found the footing he wanted. In September 2024, Osborne announced his departure, saying he was “way happier” after choosing to focus entirely on cycling esports.
Osborne added a second rainbow jersey and earned more than US$93,000 that year, telling Escape in a recent interview that he had no regrets because “he didn’t think it would work out this well.”
The momentum carried into 2025, when he claimed a third world title and crossed the six-figure earnings threshold. He had solidified himself as synonymous with the evolving discipline. Elite-level execution isn’t just resume deep.
So what does it actually take to be successful at the highest level of cycling esports? The SRM-sponsored Osborne shared the data from his PM9 Origin Powermeter 9 that he collected during the three-stage live final in Abu Dhabi on MyWhoosh.
The numbers tell only some of the story. The cumulative mental strain of performing week after week without guaranteed income, combined with the sport’s unique performance and nutrition demands, and the added pressure of a live final, surfaced at this Worlds.
“Looking back, I think I was a bit burned out,” Osborne admitted, saying he wasn’t riding like himself in the early going. “The body is not a machine. You are not the same every day, and I was definitely not on my best day.”
Cycling esports blends the punchy, all-or-nothing intensity of cyclocross with the sustained, repeated-effort demands of track racing across multiple short 15- to 20-minute events. Where road racing rewards sustained power, cycling esports asks for repeated, all-out surges, full-body efforts, and the ability to recover just enough to hit it again – and again.
Osborne after winning his third cycling esports world title in late 2025. (Image: UCI)Stage 1: The Mountain’s Verdict
Osborne could ill afford a slow start if he had any hopes of a three-peat in this year’s omnium points format. The graded uphill FTP test elimination race designed for stage 1 should’ve played into the hands of the 69-kilogram former pro, who was at home in the hills and claimed a 460-watt FTP.
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