Martyn Ashton

Martyn Ashton

Animal Bike Tour, Aberystwyth, June 2007
Personal information
Full name Martyn Ashton
Born (1974-12-02) 2 December 1974
Team information
Discipline MTB
Role Rider
Rider type Trials
Professional team(s)
1997 Volvo - Cannondale
2005 Animal MBUK
2008– Team Ashton Diamondback
Infobox last updated on
12 June 2008

Martyn Ashton (born 2 December 1974)[1] is a former British and World Champion[2] mountain bike trials rider, stunt rider and team manager. He had been riding professional trials since 1993[3] and is often described as a mountain biking legend.[4][5] He has been credited with turning trials from a niche form of riding into the sport it is today.[6] Ashton was paralysed in an accident in 2013, during a bike trials demo at the British Moto GP.[7]

Biography

"Legend" Ashton started out as a motorcycle trials rider, and only later took up mountain bike trials.[6] He has been the front man for The Bike Tour since 2002, and is a four-time British Biketrial Champion and former World Expert Biketrial Champion. Ashton is the High Jump World Record Holder. In 2008, Ashton entered the Mountain Biking UK 'Hall of Fame'.[3]

Ashton not only rides trials, he has also designed the exhibition stages[8] and has been designing products for his own Ashton Bikes range since 2002.[4] He has appeared in TV shows, magazine covers and MTB videos, and also has his own column Hop Idol in the MBUK magazine.[4] Ashton lives in Port Talbot, Wales.

Ashton broke his back in 2003 when he compressed a vertebra and fractured it during a fall, having misjudged a landing, but he soon returned to riding.[9]

Ashton established Team Ashton Diamondback in order to provide support for young riders. Although they are top level riders nationally and capable of achieving results internationally, Ashton does not believe competition results are the be all and end all, and the team concentrate as much on gaining positive attention in the media as competition. A range of Team Ashton bikes was released in October 2008 as part of the 2009 Diamondback range.[10]

Ashton again broke his back on 1 September 2013 during a demo at Moto GP. A 3-metre fall from a high bar left him with severe damage to his spinal cord and dislocated T9 and T10 vertebrae.[11]

On 2 July 2015 Ashton rode a modified bike down a mountain, which was featured in the YouTube video "Martyn Ashton - Back On Track" by Global Mountain Bike Network.

Martyn launched his newest film "Down Not Out - Mountain Bike Party" on 12 June 2016 in which he rode a modified Canyon Sender bike and was published by Global Mountain Bike Network, where he hosts the weekly Dirtshed Show.

Road Bike Party

On 9 October 2012 Ashton published a popular video on YouTube called Road Bike Party, where he takes an unmodified carbon road bike and performs a series of acrobatic tricks. Shot in various locations around the UK, the video was viewed millions of times, receiving tens of thousands of likes and over ten million views by early 2014.[12]

Road Bike Party 2

After the success of Road Bike Party, Martyn was working on a sequel. During a trials display he had an accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Road Bike Party 2 was completed with help from other riders - Danny MacAskill and Chris Akrigg. "Road Bike Party 2" was released on 10 December 2013, and like the first episode became a success. The video gained more than 7.5 million views and 66,000 likes in the first month.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Martyn Ashton". Cycling Website.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 "Martyn Ashton". Ashton Bikes.
  4. 1 2 3 "Team Ashton Diamondback Is Launched". Diamondback.
  5. ↑ "Martyn Ashton : Mountain bike legend". ADS Projects.
  6. 1 2 "Martyn Ashton". Mud in the Blood.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "ANIMAL MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONS, MARTYN ASHTON AND GRANT 'CHOPPER' FIELDER, AT THE SPORTSBOAT AND RIB SHOW". Southampton Sports Boat and RIB Show. 4 May Animal Mountain Bike Champions, Martyn Ashton and Grant ‘Chopper’ Fielder, at the Sportsboat and Rib Show2005. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ↑ "UK Trials ace Ashton recovering from broken back". February 2003.
  10. ↑ "About Team Ashton". Ashton Bikes.
  11. ↑ "Legend Martyn Ashton is set for a new trial". DIRT.
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0
  13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhabgvIIXik&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLUdAMlZtaV105t0QZCfOkG-O-d6GPKS7t
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