It is with shock and sadness that we can report the death of the legend that is Jez Avery. Our thoughts are with his family and his friends.
I thought I’d catch Jez later. Part way through commentating a bunnyhop competition at the Malverns Classic in 2024, he was in his element. Just the right balance of encouragement and cheek, surrounded by GT logos and a bunch of faces you might recognise had you been at the original Malverns Classics. Indeed, plenty of fans were stopping for a selfie with their teenage idol. I figured I’d not interrupt, and left Jez to doing what he loved.
Jez Avery was an icon in the early days of mountain biking in the UK, remembered especially for ‘Team Hot Pies’, and later the Jez Avery Stunt Show. His cheer and chat along with a bag of bike based stunts and tricks made him an easy guest at events and on TV shows. You could count on him to wow you with his performance, building the suspense – or talking his way out of a mishap. If you said ‘oh shit’, or worse, on hearing of his death last week, you’d not be alone. You’d better also apologise – Jez rarely swore, and always apologised if he did. A habit, perhaps, of having so many of his words pumped straight through a microphone and into the public’s ear. He was safe family viewing, and a committed family man, hit hard by the loss of his parents in his younger years, and doting on his daughter, Olivia.
I did not catch Jez later, at that Malverns Festival last year. Instead, my last memory of him is of his Jez Avery roadshow truck and trailer hitting the road – weaving its way along the valley across from the campsite, on his way to another summer show date. Maybe my mind’s eye is tricking me, but in it Jez is honking some crazy horn and all the festival campers are waving. I hope I didn’t imagine that, because it would be a perfect send off.
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I wrote of Jez’s successes and struggles back in 2019, and you can read that article below. Jez leaves behind his much loved daughter, Olivia. There is a collection in his memory to help her with his funeral costs.
Thanks to Jez for all the chat and entertainment. Gone too soon, let him remind us to check in and catch up with our friends. Sometimes there isn’t a next time.
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