Nathan Earle and his Pinarello Dogma F8 on one very hot summers day on a training week in Nowra, NSW(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
And Continental tyres too, a GP Force 24c on the front and a standard Grand Prix 23c on the back(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Earle uses Shimano Dura-ace C35 clincher wheels for training(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Further aero features include the integrated seat clamp and internal cable routing. Interestingly, the F8 sticks with convential brakes and positions, unlike the chainstay mount direct-mount brakes as seen from some other aero designs(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
The Pinarello F8 feautures aerodynamic truncated aerofoil-shaped tubes, which have been dubbed FlatBack(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Connected to a Stages power meter crank arm, a Garmin Edge 510 tracks his ride(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
A Dura-ace 11-28T cassette helps Earle spin a little more up his steep local Tassie climbs(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
A saddle bag on a pro bike? Yep... need to carry those spares somehow when you're training solo(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Still a new name to the Sky outfit, Nathan Earle continues to show strong promise at 26 years of age(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Still a new name to the Sky outfit, Nathan Earle continues to show strong promise at 26 years of age(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Earle uses a standard 53/39T Shimano Dura-ace 9000 crankset with a matching Stages power meter left arm(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
A rather new face to the WorldTour peloton, expect plenty from this Australian(Image credit: David Rome / Immediate Media)
Nathan Earle made his debut with Team Sky in 2014. He joined the British team after having raced in Australia with friend and fellow Tasmanian Richie Porte on the Continental Praties Squad.
Since he moved to the World Tour in 2014, Earle's had some of his better results in longer races, such as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Amstel Gold Race. In fact, Earle was the only Sky rider to finish the 2014 edition of Liège.
Here, we look at Earle's 2014 race bike, which, in the guise pictured, has relegated to being his 2015 training bike.
Sitting at the centre is Pinarello's latest road creation, the F8. Launched for the 2014 Tour de France and designed in collaboration with Sky-sponsor Jaguar, the F8 is Pinarello's lightest, stiffest and most aerodynamic road bike to date.
Earle said: "This is easily the best road bike I've ever ridden". Sure, he's a sponsored rider, but we don't doubt his word, given how highly the F8 ranked in the recent Cyclingnews poll.
Pinarello offers the F8 in an industry-leading choice of 13 production frame sizes. Earle, like the rest of the team, rides a stock size – in his case 53cm.
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Nearly every component on the Pinarello frame is supplied by Shimano, or Shimano's own component brand, PRO.
Earle's bike features a complete Shimano Dura-Ace groupset
Where we've seen Sky's Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins experiment with assymetrical chainrings, Earle sticks with a completely stock Dura-Ace M9070 Di2 groupset. His 53/39 front chainring and 11-28T cassette offer just enough gearing for local climbs, while the shifting is kept as simple as possible without the addition of any Di2 climber or sprinter shifters.
Clinchers for training, tubulars for racing
The bike has been photographed in training format, but there are a few component differences compared to how it is on race day. The most obvious is the wheels – Earle uses Shimano Dura-Ace C35 clinchers rather than his likely C50 tubular setup on race day.
Keeping these wheels afloat are Continental GP Force 24c and Grand Prix tyres front and rear respectively. The front choice is odd because it's more commonly used (and recommended) as a rear tyre. Sky doesn't have an official tyre sponsor and traditionally uses Veloflex tubulars for race day, however it's likely that Earle was supplied these.
Sometimes a saddle bag is the best way to carry things
Other training accessories include a fi'zi:k clip-in saddle bag and a Park Tools mini pump – proving that even the pros use these things from time to time.
