VOLUME 57 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2020 P83
ferent story. It's been a long road
to get there, for sure, but as far
as me, personally, it was only a
nine-week wait."
THE EUROPE YEARS
Osborne turned Pro in 2006,
but admittedly had a relatively
disappointing foray into the pro
ranks of supercross and outdoor
motocross. Osborne struggled
for two years and appeared to
be out of options but was never
one to give in, and then he de-
cided to go to Europe in 2008
and that's when things started to
turn around.
"Europe for me was just a
major learning experience," said
Osborne. "I was a highly talented
amateur rider with all the tools
from a very young age. Going
there for me was kind of a last-
ditch effort at racing. I went there
on a two-race deal and stayed
there on the same team for four
and a half years. I just kind of
found a passion for racing that
I hadn't really experienced in a
long time or maybe ever, being
around a group of guys that loved
racing like I did and were there
for the same goal. That's my
biggest takeaway. If you have the
passion and you have the drive,
then you can do about anything
you want to do. That was a huge
key for me getting back here.
Also continuing success once I
got back."
HURDLES
Osborne didn't get off to the
best of starts to the 2020 sea-
son, suffering a major injury in
March while practicing the week
before the Atlanta round of the
AMA Supercross Series.
"It was the biggest injury I've
ever had," said Osborne. "I
broke five vertebrae in my back,
my wrist, some ribs, bruised both
lungs. It was pretty dire for a cou-
ple days there. Definitely con-
templated it. Then when I came
back to riding, I wasn't really
riding that good. I wasn't happy
with where I was. It was weighing
on me. Definitely a little bit of a
period there where I wasn't really
too sure what the future held. I'm
glad I stuck it out now."
Osborne admitted that there
were even thoughts of retirement
at that point, but when he made
the decision to continue, he did
so in a big way.
"I think it was just a decision
that I had to make," said Os-
borne. "I wanted to continue, or I
didn't. When I made the deci-
sion that I wanted to continue,
it was go time. It was time to go
out there and put my best foot
forward every time I raced."
Even during the 450 Pro Mo-
tocross Championship, Osborne
had more than his share of prob-
Osborne carried the
momentum of his
final-round win in
Supercross into the
outdoor Nationals. He
snagged the red plate
in round one and
never looked back.
