Today it’s Intense’s turn to announce his 2022 downhill program and he’s bolstered his team’s ranks with Dakotah Norton and Joe Breeden.
Although Neko Mulally has left the team to start creating his own bikes, Dakotah Norton ensures the team’s USDH presence remains strong. Dakotah is the reigning US Champion and a regular on the top step of the podium in the US ProGRT and Downhill South East series. He also knows the top 10 in the World Cup. In the 2021 season, he battled his way to three top-ten finishes, just missing out on a podium spot at Snowshoe.
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Intense won races before I learned to ride, so joining the Intense family this season is really exciting for me. It’s a brand that isn’t afraid to break the mold as a racing program to prioritize performance. The whole program and everyone around it has such a winning history that I can’t wait to put myself in a new environment and see what we can accomplish together. I have huge respect for Aaron, and everything he told me before signing about the new plans they have for this year gives me confidence that I can perform at the highest level on an Intense.—Dakotah Norton |
Joe Breeden has ridden for Intense in the past on the Saddleback-backed UK team and qualified first in Val di Sole on one of his frames. He leaves the UR team where he picked up a 10th at Lousa 2020, another 10th at Les Gets 2021 and a win at the Psychose downhill.
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Ever since I started racing for Intense Racing UK when I was 17, my dream was to one day race for the Factory team. Five years later, here we are…and I couldn’t be happier. I’m super excited for the future of working with everyone to see what we can all accomplish together.—Joe Breden |
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I’m really happy with how our program is preparing for the future. We have incredible talent on board and I look forward to working together to achieve all the goals we hope to achieve. The team and I worked hard this offseason and I think we were able to make the gains necessary to put ourselves in a winning position. I can’t wait for the racing season to start.—Aaron Gvin |
The rest of the team remains unchanged with Aaron Gwin at the helm and Seth Sherlock continuing his partnership with Intense that he has had since he was 13 years old. The team will continue to develop the M279 bike with “new changes and special adjustments” expected for 2022 Seth and Joe will also be racing select EWS events on the Tracer.
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It will be a great year for the team. With the addition of Dakotah and Joe, along with a new downhill bike, the Lourdes World Cup can’t come soon enough. Both Dakotah and Joe have had great results over the past two years, and for Aaron and Seth the new downhill bike will surely boost their performance. Intense and our sponsors have provided us with a level of support that will present us at our best.—Todd Schumlick, IFR Team Leader |
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IFR 2022 is a dream team program that Aaron and Intense have brought together with a focus on the podium and product development at the highest level. I am very excited to continue working with Aaron and Seth and new opportunities with Dak and Joe. John Hall is also taking on a new role not only as AG’s mechanic, but also as technical product manager to coordinate between the race team and product R&D. We now not only have an aggressive rider lineup, but also a support program to help develop the next generation of World Cup-level DH bikes.—Jeff Steber, Founder of Intense |
Bernice J. Hicks 
