Duathlon star Brunee fourth in the women’s category
By Kevin Kempf
Jason Osborne (Alpecin – Deceuninck) | Photo: Cor Vos
09/08/2024 | (rsn) – Jason Osborne (Alpecin – Deceuninck) has not been in action on the road for almost two months, but the German qualified for the final at the UCI E-Sports World Championship semi-finals on Friday despite an inflamed knee. The 2020 world champion finished 16th in the competition held on the MyWhoosh platform, while Martin Maertens also moved into the final fight for the medals as the 20th and last athlete.
“I had to give it my all because I was struggling with an inflammation of my right leg. The fact that the course was mostly tailored to sprinters made it even more difficult for me,” the 30-year-old explained on his Instagram channel in a post that also shows his swollen knee. The fastest in the semifinals was New Zealander Ollie Jones (Southern Cross Racing) ahead of American Hayden Pucker and Belgian Stefan van Aelst. Finnish junior Kasper Borremans, who already has a contract with Bahrain Victorious for 2027, also advanced to the final in ninth place.
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It is unclear when Osborne, who was the only road pro in the race, will return to racing on the road. “Now it’s time to give my leg some time to heal and get rid of the inflammation and swelling. Hopefully that won’t take too long,” wrote the Olympic silver medalist.
In the women’s race, Briton Lou Bates crossed the virtual finish line first. Second place went to Swiss Kathrin Fuhrer, ahead of New Zealander Mary McCarthy and German Merle Brunnee. The two-time duathlon world champion from Heidelberg, like Pia Kummer, will be taking part in the final on October 26 in Abu Dhabi.
