Joe Breeden, Louise Ferguson, Oscar Griffiths & Ryder Lawrence Will Form Intense Factory Racing in 2024

Jan 15, 2024
by Ed Spratt  
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After teasing a four-rider team last week, Intense has revealed its plans for the 2024 season with a new look for its factory racing team.

For 2024, the Intense Factory Racing team features Joe Breeden, Louise Ferguson, Oscar Griffiths and Ryder Lawrence as its list of riders looking to ride the downhill World Cup series on the new M1.

Another switch-up from the previous Intense team under Aaron Gwin is the list of brands sponsoring and supporting the team. This upcoming season the team will be kitted out with products from Continental, TLD, e*thirteen, Saddleback, J-Tech Suspension, Öhlins, OneUp Components, HT, Smanie, Peaty's, Works Components and TRP.

Under the new program, Joe Breeden will lead the project with Olly Morris running things from a management and performance perspective. Joe has brought on his long-term mechanic Jon Stout as the Head Mechanic for the whole team. Randy Lawrence, a member of the 1995 Intense team, is the mechanic for his son Ryder and KC Till is supporting Louise Ferguson. The team has brought on Callum Philpott to capture all the action throughout the season.


bigquotesWhen I found out that the IFR team was finishing under the ownership of Aaron Gwin, I saw the opportunity to take on a new responsibility. I wanted to put a team in place that not only fitted my racing needs but also gave a platform for other riders to perform at their best, and provide the most value possible to the brands that are supporting us. The vision for the team is to offer an environment for personal growth, a place where we develop people and craft riders, providing a platform for champions to form.— Joe Breeden

bigquotesThis year’s team reminds me of why I started Intense, and it feels like history is coming full circle after 30 years. The relaunch of the M1 combined with the introduction of a fresh, new IFR program combines old traditions with new possibilities. Joe has ridden Intense since his early days as a Junior. Ryder and Oscar are both very promising Juniors. Add to that the team’s exciting return to the Women’s Elite field with the super-talented Louise Ferguson. With such a great group, on a completely re-designed race rig, it’s bound to be a nail-biter of a season!— Jeff Steber, Intense Founder and CEO

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The team has now set its sights on the first round of the World Cup at Fort William in May and you can follow along as they prepare for the opening round on Instagram here.

Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Press Releases Racing Rumours Intense Joe Breeden Louise Ferguson


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94 Comments
  • 110 2
 This new team seems strong, very powerful, almost extreme, very heightened and vivid. Some may even say...shit I can't think of another word
  • 47 2
 I know this is dumb, I'm sorry pinkbike
  • 15 1
 no vivid - TTX22 only :-)
  • 11 0
 Intelligent? Integrated? Intermixed? Inthralling? Intoxicated?
  • 3 0
 @thebradjohns: better than inchoate, inexplicable, inarticulate or incoherent. Honestly, the replies here are indefensible..
  • 1 0
 inxtreme?
  • 27 0
 Cheaper. The word you’re looking for is “cheaper” to run - by a lot.
  • 1 1
 Just say it... say the i word...
  • 6 1
 @nsteele: Would you rather see Intense have a cheaper team, or no team at all ? It's easy to sit there and judge their decisions, but it could simply be the difference between having a team and folding a company.
  • 2 1
 @weeksy59: I know you want to ingage, but your comment doesn’t follow the vibe…it’s tense.
  • 4 1
 @nsteele: wasn’t Gwin his own team and just riding Intense bikes?
Gwin is seems hard to work with, he has had a couple of teams design new bikes around his specifications and then just kick rocks right after, also did that with two tire brands.
  • 86 2
 Bit of a trip. Gwin and Dak spend years getting the bike together and then aren’t around to race it when it’s completed.
  • 13 0
 My thoughts exactly! Perhaps Intense may be the frame sponsor for whatever team they are moving to?
  • 7 0
 I thought the same, although it’s not impossible they could be on Intense bikes as part of another team.
  • 11 3
 Dakota was "only" on the bike for 2x years. Sure, not nothing but a far cry from Minnar's contribution/investment in the V10.

I would imagine for Gwin he may have received compensation in the form of equity, may have a royalty agreement, etc. so his development time may still "pay off" for him.

And ultimately these guys may love bikes but professionally they're just tools of the trade. Whatever pays the bills.
  • 4 2
 Maybe they wanted too much money
  • 5 0
 Gwins done that 4 times. Trek, spesh, YT and now Intense. Each time spend a season on the new bike after working a season or two with the old one.
  • 4 1
 This is the budget friendly Intense Team!
  • 85 2
 Congrats, thats a brilliant team
  • 65 1
 Hey man, please leave this conversation to us arm chair experts please!
  • 1 1
 Doesn't get much higher praise than this. Although it would have rocked to have you on it boet. Imagine! Finally all my friends would have stopped giving me kak for all my Intenses. haha
  • 40 1
 <deleted Aaron>
  • 5 2
 deleted pun>
  • 43 1
 Remove Norton Anti-virus
  • 2 2
 @racecase: It was not antivirus, they (as usual recently) posted unedited material with wrong links to pictures ...
  • 4 0
 Aarno Gwon
  • 1 0
 accidentally reinstalled Mcfee Secure Search>
  • 18 0
 Congratulations to Joe Breeden for putting this together. He is by all accounts a super talented rider but has struggled with injuries of late. I assume he's riding as well as managing which is a challenge but Bernard Kerr has shown how to do it. You love to see it when people take the next step in their careers and start to assert their leadership skills.
  • 17 2
 Louise Ferguson for Ft William podium- you heard it here first.
  • 14 0
 The whole of Scotland have been saying this for an awful lot longer than that...
  • 3 0
 @emmkay29: Fair point! Can't wait to see her keep progressing this season.
  • 3 0
 @emmkay29: maybe finally she has the right bike!
  • 15 0
 deleted comment>
  • 11 0
 deleted reply>
  • 1 0
 @rocky-x: :->
  • 15 3
 Looks like all 4 of them get to share one bike.
  • 13 1
 Times are tough in the bike industry
  • 2 3
 @ReformedRoadie: They brought it on themselves for the most part. Discovery/UCI aren't helping either. Im not feeling bad for them honestly.
  • 11 0
 They'll be riding a cool looking bike!
  • 7 0
 Overheard this conversation in the Bec Jaune last summer, kept my mouth shut. I feel my discretion deserves some kind of reward... Congrats Joe!
  • 9 1
 Now Palmer needs to come back to complete the Circle with Randy there!
  • 7 0
 They should let Randy lead the charge on their PT as well. That dudes an animal.
  • 7 0
 Congrats Ryder! And Dad. Good luck this year
  • 3 0
 hopeful for the new IFR team.. my impression is that the 2 junior racers are self supported with only Joe, 2 mechanics and Callum Philpott, (possibly) on a payroll of some design. its smart to have a dedicated crew member recording and posting content. it looks like a much smaller team budget for Steber and that seems to be a trend in lotsa teams this year. my outlook for the new M1??..depends on how hungry the riders are to bring it on in competition
  • 5 0
 gotta say that new frame looks very nice, especially with the Öhlins stuff
  • 2 0
 Cool to see Ryder get his shot. You see lots of fast kids come up and you never know who is gonna stick with it and put in the time to get to world cup speeds. the US has a lot of interesting prospects comin up. Wonder what the races are gonna look like. Pinkerton, Medcalf, Asa, now Ryder. Plus hoping Dak doesn't lose any steam with all this going on. He had just built that momentum :/
  • 2 0
 I am so incredibly stoked for them. USA DH is coming up. The next few years are going to be very interesting with some really fast kids all jostling for a spot on a Factory Team. Very excited to see our friends the Lawrence's, out in front. Go get 'em guys!
  • 4 0
 Has Norton been picked up by any team? Dude charges. Am I wrong, or shouldn't a guy with his skill set be on a team already?
  • 6 0
 It's strongly believed he's going to the new Mondraker Factory team with Dunne and Pinky...
  • 3 0
 Ahh this is a good looking team! It be interesting to see what they achieve!

Wonder where Gwin and Dak end up - or will they have their own Intense team???!
  • 4 0
 A bike with paint will be a big step forward.
  • 3 0
 No Dakota Norton and no Aaron Gwin...wonder if they'll form another team together.
  • 3 0
 I hope so. I thought that was a winning combination of speed, experience, and personality that could lead an entire nation towards an expansion of DH programming. I'm certainly left scratching my head..
  • 2 0
 This is the definition of small budget line up
  • 3 0
 @blanshard16: Yeah for sure. Dakota was, in my mind, the new winning USA DH athlete and with Aaron being the experienced mentor he was going far.
  • 4 0
 Sweet baby jesus that song made my ears bleed.
  • 2 0
 I am excited to see a SoCal bike and rider racing around the globe. GO LAWRENCE!
  • 1 1
 Seems crazy they would go with this team setup over Gwin and dak,here's hoping aaron and dak have them as a frame sponsor otherwise intense is winning nothing this upcoming Season
  • 4 1
 [NO IMAGE SET]
  • 6 6
 wow, after the year dak just had i can't believe they didn't retain him. good luck to this team, but i don't see very strong results coming up for intense.
  • 2 0
 Neat vid. Though that vomit they chose for the music .... SMH
  • 2 0
 None of them competed in fontucky yesterday, weird
  • 2 0
 Pinkerton cannot race until team annoucement is made or he would have been at the race.
  • 1 2
 ... I must say I am stoked to see Peaty's name associated with a WC racing team again! Cool to see his product line growing still!
  • 2 0
 Valid video release
  • 1 0
 Anyway, the video is fantastic
  • 2 2
 If they played that music in the start hut of a WC race I'd probably podium.
  • 4 0
 Trying to get away from it as fast as humanly possible.
  • 1 0
 Ryder Lawrence - name checks out...
  • 2 1
 Louise Ferguson is H>O>T
  • 1 0
 Joe Breeden off Intense Factory Racing to join... Intense Factory Racing!
  • 11 10
 Costco has a race team?
  • 20 0
 I'd be stoked to be sponsored by the Costco food court area.
  • 5 5
 Dak on Frameworks with Neko
  • 1 0
 Good luck to the new Intense Team
  • 4 0
 Angel on Frameworks with Neko. Oh and Asa.
  • 2 1
 From a good source Dak is on Mondraker. Don't think you'd see him on Nekos frame like ever.
  • 10 0
 Frameworks is Neko, Asa and Angel. Team photos are floating around just not released yet. ep1.pinkbike.org/p5pb26106594/p5pb26106594.jpg
  • 1 0
 @bgoldstone: hell yeah, that's gonna be an ace team, hope Angel can fit in well with the two muricans.
  • 1 0
 EWS lineup next??
  • 1 2
 Oh what a surprise, . Next please.
  • 1 3
 How not to elevate your brand through sponsorship. Seems like such a step down from the pretty stacked team that they had.
  • 1 1
 Dak to Syndicate?
  • 1 0
 Dak to either Frame Works or Mondraker?
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