Intense retain Jack Moir for 2019
NSW rider Jack Moir has been announced as part of the Intense Factory Racing (IFR) program for 2019, returning for his fourth year with the team.
This year's roster also includes American national champion Neko Mulally and multi-time World Cup medalist Aaron Gwin, also from the US.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Mullaley, Gwin and Aussie Jack Moir
Commenting on the announcement, founder and CEO Jeff Steber said, "As a brand, we’ve spent the last year doing a lot of soul-searching. It became clear that what made Intense great in the beginning was our commitment to racing. Our biggest benefit was derived from having top riders competing in the most challenging conditions as a part of our R&D process.
Steber added, “We made a promise to ourselves and to our company, that we would reclaim our spot at the top of the World Cup circuit. As soon as we did that, choosing the roster was easy. It’s not always as simple as choosing a roster, though. With so many teams and only a handful of riders capable of bringing home top results on any given weekend, it’s a seller’s market on the World Cup these days, and top riders have their pick of solid programs to choose from."
After three years at IFR, Moir is seen as a veteran despite his age. At 24, he's the team’s youngest rider, and rose to stardom under the IFR flag when he played a pivotal role in developing the M29. In 2017, Jack spent the entire season on a different prototype at nearly every race.
“Prototyping in public isn’t for everyone” said CEO Steber. “Anything can happen with prototype bikes. Jack’s ability to ride the bike for its strengths and really embrace the development process during the World Cup Series showed his true professionalism.”
Posting on Instagram, Moir said, "Going large. Got a good feeling about this year."
The team will be managed by long-time trainer of Aaron Gwin, Todd Schumlick, and Cathy Zinck. The duo has a long history of working with athletes and running successful race programs at both the privateer and factory racing levels. The IFR Technical Team will include John Hall for Aaron Gwin, Daniel Paine for Jack Moir and Sam Yates for Neko Mulally. Brock Van Heel has been hired as the team videographer.
The World Cup DH series begins in Maribor, Slovenia on April 27-28, where Moir will look to start strongly and improve on his 25th-placed finish in 2018.
