Timeline of Jason’s life
•November 26, 1971: Born in Bedfordshire with a hole in his heart. It’s a miracle he’s born at all. A threat to his mum’s life, doctors advised termination.
•1978: Gets hooked on BMX. An absolute fanatic. His training, weight work and total commitment to riding are awesome, as is his impressive grasp of BMX trivia.
•1982: On the verge of joining the Mongoose factory team, Jason wins the cherished Number One plate for the North East.
•1983: After a crash, a fellow rider lands on his knee, wrecking his cruciate ligaments. Out of BMX, sport and maybe even walking, Jason undertakes intense leg routines in the gym. Developing his muscles hugely takes up the slack in his ligaments.
•1986: It begins to work, Jason starts distance running and is talented enough to train alongside Steve Cram, but the ligament problem reoccurs.
•1988: Against medical advice he gets a mountain bike and enters his first cross-country event. He wins. From then on mountain biking becomes his new obsession.
•1991: He’s part of the UK downhill squad at the Worlds.
•1992: On Team MBUK, he sees that the future is in international downhill and spends a lot of time abroad. Sponsors think he should be in the UK.
•1993: The Grundig World Cupbegins. He and his dad quit their jobs and hit the world circuit. In the States he wins $3,000 for second place in the Eliminator, which gets them to New York where his ride impresses Specialized.
•1994: First year as a Specialized world professional. An inspiration to Steve Peat.
•1995: Started badly and ended tragically, but in-between all was going well.
•August 24th, 1995: Jason died when his Harley Davidson was in collision with a lorry at WoodheadPass on the A628 in Derbyshire.