New Zealand cycling in shock following sudden death of Patrick Avery
Suspected heart attack for national representative
New Zealand cyclists are mourning the loss of fellow rider, Patrick Avery, 21, who died suddenly on Tuesday evening.
"If you have not heard, Patrick fell off this bike towards the end of the Crit, there is a possibility he had a heart attack but we do not know the cause," wrote Peter Clark, President of Cycling Rotorua to club members according to a Rotorua Mountain Bike Club post on Facebook.
"Club members and the Fire Brigade Team spent 40 mins trying to resuscitate Paddy before the Ambulance arrived who spent another 30 mins before transporting him to hospital. I believe they were unable to restart his heart."
Avery was an avid mountain biker, who represented New Zealand at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia, where he finished 37th in the junior men's cross country race. More recently he participated in some New Zealand MTB Cup rounds with the elite men.
The Avery family is well known in cycling for its involvement in national-level racing. He is the son of Murray, who has been responsible for building many of the trails in the famous Whakarewarewa Forest mountain bike park and the younger brother of Champion Systems pro road racer Clinton Avery.
Cyclingnews extends its condolences to the Avery family and friends.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.