Ashton Bikes

Team Ashton Diamondback riders Martyn Ashton and Sam Pilgrim took part in some truly amazing shows at the Animal event ‘Windfest’. After a stormy start on Friday the Bike Tour Team enjoyed two days of glorious sun; and shows to packed crowds on the beach front location at Poole Sandbanks.
“This was the last big event of the 2008 tour and we really wanted to round off this amazing season in style; the crowds at Windfest made this really special for us. The riding was off the hook, Sam was nailing huge 360 whips mid show, his level all year has been incredible, it’s been a real joy to ride with him.”
Martyn Ashton
“Windfest was an awesome event, Animal did a great job at this putting it together. The shows were super fun and i tried to step the level up for a big finish. Martyn came through with some big moves that he has never done before, including a nutty jump onto the Van that he crashed a few times, pretty nuts. The tour has been so much fun this year, we are already planning new riding equipment for the 2009 rig, can’t wait!”
Sam Pilgrim

Pics: Robin Kitchin

Martyn Ashton was in fine form for the Swindon leg of the Animal Relentless Bike Tour. On a weekend when most of the country was experiencing storms and flooding, the tour managed to avoid the extreme weather and get all the shows done. A good turnout of spectators made for a fun days riding; big thank you goes to the guys who travelled so far to see the guys ride.
“I had fun in Swindon; Sam wasn’t available so i got to ride with Blake Samson from DMR which was cool. He can go pretty big and he had me cornered for a while there.
It’s a big weekend for us coming up in Poole; time for the Animal Windfest event. I’m really excited about this event. Sam and I will be riding the Bike Tour rig over the weekend and all of Team Ashton Diamondback are turning up for the party on Saturday night, it’s gonna be amazing fun; can’t wait.”
Martyn Ashton

Pics from Swindon

Team Ashton Diamondback rider Ben Savage made his way into another UCI World Cup final this weekend in Moutiers, Switzerland. The difficult event was dogged by bad weather and the UK No1 battled well in the quarters and semi finals to go into the Final with strong hopes of a podium finish. Unfortunately things didn’t go well for Ben on the first lap and even a resilient fight back in on the second circuit of the final course could repair the damage.
This wasn’t to plan but Ben’s consistent performances throughout the World Cup series have placed him well in the overall World rankings; we are looking forward to seeing what this talented rider can do in the top level in 2009.
“I have mixed feelings about the event in Moutiers really; I’m riding really well, I feel like I’m on the pace, unfortunately at this level silly mistakes cost an awful lot. I attempted taking conservative lines on the first lap and it didn’t pay off. The second lap was ‘go for it’ time and I had a much better ride.
The bike set up felt good and I’m now looking forward to getting back to the UK to begin testing the prototype Diamondback frame that has just arrived; can’t wait to see how it rides!”
Ben Savage

Poole

Ben in Japan BIU Final

Martyn in Bounrmouth

What with the Bike Tour and World Biketrial events, Team Ashton has been very busy over the last few weeks.
The Animal Relentless Bike Tour had stops at Poole, Bournemouth, Poole Park, Gloucester, Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. This time of year the dates are all packed together as the end of the tour comes into view.
“Poole and Bournemouth were amazing events, so many people watching the shows and so much noise. It felt great to get such amazing support in the towns that Animal originated from and is based.”
Sam Pilgrim
“This leg of the Tour was very draining physically but we have all prepared for it and we managed to put on some great shows over this two week marathon. I had a great time at all the venues, Bournemouth and Poole are always special because we are back in the homeland of Animal; it was really cool to see so many guys from the Animal offices come and support us at one particular show in Poole.
Shrewsbury was again a brilliant date, last year it was probably my favourite City centre show and even the damp conditions couldn’t stop the crowd this year. They supported us all day and the Animal store visits between shows were epic!”

Whilst the Tour got busy Team Ashton Diamondback rider Ben Savage jetted out to Japan for the final round of the World Biketrial Championship. Ben has concentrated on his UCI standings this year but this appearance at BIU was a very successful one for the UK No1. Ben missed out on the podium by the smallest of margins; slipping to fourth on a most cleans tie break to Peter Bartek. This fourth place betrays Ben’s level as he was only 14 marks away from 1st place. The conditions turned out to be very slippy and tough; Ben was the only rider to complete some of the sections and once again proved he is one of the World’s best Trials riders.
“I was chuffed with my riding, just some slips in the tough conditions cost me the place I was after. Still the other guys rode great and I think we all had a great time in this tough event.”
Ben Savage