Five Minutes – Zach Osborne
Zach Osborne is better known for his motocross and supercross skills, but for the first week of October he’s opted to give enduro a go. Taking part in his ever ISDE, with the US World Trophy team, the Honda rider is acquitting himself well.
Sixth overall in the Enduro 1 class at the end of day four, the ISDE rookie is well on course for a gold medal. Enduro21.com caught up with Osborne to find out about his ISDE experience…
Why did you decide to come and race the ISDE?
Zach Osborne: “As a sideline to my commitments in the motocross and supercross championships I also did three rounds of the GNCC Racing Championship. And I scored some podium results there too. Based on that I got asked if I would be interested in coming here to Sardinia for the ISDE. At first I was a little hesitant but it’s hard to say no to represent your country. I spoke with my Geico Honda team if they’d let me go. They were happy to do so and I raised some funds and made the trip happen!”
What sort of preparation did you do to get ready for the ISDE?
“To be honest I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. The AMA Motocross Championship only finished a couple of weeks ago so I was still committed to that. Like I said, I rode some GNCC races, which are actually completely different to enduro, and then rode in some woods close to my home. So generally I was a little wet behind the ear coming here. But I did have my tyre changing routine sorted – at least I was ready for that.”
How have you enjoyed the week to date?
“It’s been great. It’s a lot different than I first expected but I’m really enjoying the whole experience. I’ve got my head around the time schedules and I’m having fun on the trails. In my class, E1, I also managed to win a couple of tests. But on day two I got stuck in a mud hole and lost a bunch of time. I think it was the only mud hole in Sardinia but I managed to find it.”
What goals have you set to achieve?
“Honestly I just want to finish with a gold medal – for me that’s the most important thing to do. There are no expectations to do anything else. This is a completely new sport and I’ve so much to learn.”
With just one day left to go the end of the race is now in sight. What are you thoughts on the final motocross race?
“It’s funny because everyone is looking at me to go out there and kill it. But these guys are no slouches on a dirt bike – they are seriously fast, that’s for sure. Hopefully I get a good start and can give my best shot at trying to win. There’s a couple of decent jumps on the track so I’ll be having fun throwing some whips for the crowd.”
After the ISDE what’s next for Zach Osborne?
“When I get home it’s back to work. The Monster Energy Cup is only a couple of weeks away, so this time next week I’ll be back to hitting triples and whoop sections on my supercross track. It will be worlds away from special tests, time cards and tyre changes!”