Ben Hill Archives -

Those whips! The unmistakable style of Ben Hill!

With the domestic season coming to a close and the international races starting to ramp up it seems like now is the transfer period for a lot of riders. One rider onboard for a new team is Ben Hill, after doing an Inside Info with him earlier in the year we had a chat with him and his new manager, Ben Crundwell to get the Inside Info!

Hi Ben (Crundwell), thanks for chatting to us, for everyone that doesna��t know you run the Swift Rocky Mountain Racing team. Could you please explain a little bit to us about how it came about, who is on the team and what the goals for the team are?

The Team came about a few years back, after I took a year off a�?real worka�? for a trip to Whistler, followed later that year with a trip home to race the national series in NZ. I was offered a job running the workshop at the local bike store, to help pass the time. It was here that I made some very valuable contacts, when it came time to get back to work I decided I wasna��t ready to give up the perks of dealing directly with wholesalers, so I got on the phone and it just grew from there.

The team consists of myself (Ben Crundwell), Lucy Crundwell, Ben Hill and Luke Garside as our All Mountain Enduro rider. I am still looking for a 5^th member for either DH or Enduro so watch this space.

The goals for the team are to promote the sport and have as much fun as possible, as long as were having fun the results will come.

A sizeable team by any standards but one that may continue to grow.

Now that you have signed Ben Hill to the team can you explain how that came about and why you chose Ben?A�

2013 brought on a few new challenges with the change to Rocky Mountain bicycles. I was excited to step things up, however time restraints didna��t allow my plan to come together until now. A�I always wanted to give the right junior a helping hand, someone who showed talent and drive but didna��t necessarily have everything they needed to get where they wanted to be. Benny was one of my first options due to his ability on a bike, his style and flare not to mention his fantastic attitude. From there I worked hard with our sponsors to put the deal together that Ben and his Dad would be happy with, now we look forward to an awesome season.

Having now spent a little more time with Ben, I feel lucky to be part of this chapter in his career as he will go a long way in this sport.

Awesome style but Ben is only in his early days and already we can't wait to see what he does this year and beyond! — Awesome style but Ben is only in his early days and already we can’t wait to see what he does this year and beyond!

Next we chatted to Ben (Hill)A�about how it all came together and what he had to say:

The deal came about when Clint from CWR moved to New Zealand, I actually got in touch with Ben over Facebook and it took a couple of months but we sorted it out. I flew over to Victoria to pick up the bike and the first run was as good as any other run that weekend I felt so comfortable on it straight away. I love the bike, it feels sick and everything about it is good!

With Ben recently being selected to represent Australia at the World Championships we asked him his plans for the upcoming international season:

I head over to Scotland for the first World Cup in just over two weeks, the weekend after that is the Val di Sole World Cup, I can’t wait I am so keen for it, I have been watching so many videos of that track! After that I come home to do more training and then head to South Africa for the World Champs.

Be sure to catch up with the rest of the team at races across the country even when Ben is overseas!

Ben Crundwell: I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has made this possible.

Swift Performance Supplements

Rocky Mountain Bikes

Teva

One Industries

Fox Racing Shox

IRide

Breese High Performance

Scott

Schwalbe

Without the support from these companies I wouldna��t have been able to do any of this.

Ben Hill: I would like to thank:

Clint White

Ben Crundwell

My dad.

Images courtesy of Jason Stevens Photography/Swift Rocky Mountain Racing

We thought it was about time we had a chat with Benny Hill and find out some more about one of the most exciting riders to hit the scene of late.

Ben Hill – You know the name and you have no doubt seen him plastered across downhill247.com but no only does he have the style but also the speed, we had a chat with Ben to see what makes him tick and here is what we learnt;

Ben Hill the 16 year old from Alstom, Tasmania has burst onto the scene over the past year with the CWR Team but has been riding for four years after using it for MX cross training and realising he enjoyed it moreA�he attributes a large part of this to dad who was into bikes as a kid.

A MX background no doubt helped shape Ben's style today. — A MX background no doubt helped shape Ben’s style today.

Ben has been racing for about 3 years, his deal with Clint White’s Avid Zerode team came about under differentA�circumstances, I had a broken arm and didn’t have anything to do so I sent Clint an email.A�As it turns out Clint was thinkingA�if the right junior came up then okay, as it turns out Ben was just looking for some tent space and I couldn’t promise him too much,A�so after a few casual emails it was sorted.

A casual deal with CWR has been positive for both parties with Ben recently being selected in the long team for the World Championships' later in the year. — A casual deal with CWR has been positive for both parties with Ben recently being selected in the long team for the World Championships’ later in the year.

We are real fans of what Clint White has done with the team over the past few years, what is the atmosphere like amongst the team chilled and fun. Talking about race atmosphere though any crazy race rituals? Not really I did get a pair of gloves off Troy Brosnan a little while back and I keep them in my bag at every race, that is about it. Steep, rough tracks with jumps and cornersA�are the best kind of race track. If I was describing my style it would be loose but I don’t try to be it just happens!

Steep tracks with lots of corners and big jumps are Ben's favourite. Sometimes that loose style goes to the extreme! — Steep tracks with lots of corners and big jumps are Ben’s favourite. Sometimes that loose style goes to the extreme!

Ben’s home state of Tasmania has plenty of this type of riding, Glenorchy is the favourite, the riding scene has a good vibe, there are not heaps of riders but it is the most fun place to ride.

Ben's favourite track also happens to be in his home state at Glenorchy. — Ben’s favourite track also happens to be in his home state at Glenorchy.

Ben has just been selected for the long team for theA�World Championships’, so he will be off to the team campA�before finding out whether he will be representing Australia in South Africa. Some of his favourite results have been in the Victorian Downhill Series at Mount Taylor andA�Maldon. His whips are some of the best out there and we had to ask Clint the hard question, what is Ben like on wheels? He is pretty tough on wheels, his whips make him go through themA�quicker than most.

If you see Ben out and about, buy him a flavoured milk but make sure it is lime!

Ben would like to thank; Clint White, Zerode and especially his dad!

There you have it Ben Hill ladies and gentleman!

Images: Jason Stevens

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