Thirteen years after exploding on to the MTB race circuit, legendary (or possibly infamous) extreme sportsbloke Shaun Palmer is to return to competitive mountain biking.

Having made his name in snowboarding, Palmer picked up a bike in 1995 and then amazed everyone with a 7th place at the second round of the 1996 DH World Cup. Later that year, he came 2nd in the World Championships in Cairns, Australia. He made his race debut aboard a custom-painted stars-and-stripes Intense M1 (complete with RockShox DHO forks and Magura brakes) – it’s not too much of a stretch to say that Palmer’s association with Intense gave the brand the profile it has today.

After a few years with Specialized, Palmer drifted away from MTBing. But now, at the age of 40, he’s back, and back on an Intense. Palmer says he chose Intense because of his relationship with the brand as a whole and in particular company founder and designer Jeff Steber. “I want to be involved with a brand that will allow me to use my design abilities now and in the long run,” Palmer says.

What bikes will come out of that combination remains to be seen, but there’ll certainly be some action. Palmer’s already come second at a round of the California Golden State DH series and plans to race at the imminent Canadian World Cup rounds and Crankworx in Whistler. Beyond that, who knows – Palmer says, “Let’s just haul ass this season without me smashing my nuts.” Sounds like a sound plan…

More at www.intensecycles.com.