After a busy fall that saw Casper Stornes become the new Ironman World Champion in Nice (and a podium finish at the 70.3 World Championships), the Norwegian returns for the first time in 2026. We take a closer look at his 70.3 Oceanside bike setup.
Casper Stornes of Norway will ride the Pinarello Bolide F TT at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside this weekend. (Photo: Travis Mundell/Triathlete)
Updated March 27, 2026 at 11:15 p.m
This time last year, you’d be forgiven for not knowing the name Casper Storness. But what a difference three months makes. Previously nicknamed the ‘Third Norwegian’, Stornes burst onto the long-distance triathlon scene after taking the podium at Ironman Frankfurt last summer, but the Norwegian has etched his name into the list of greats with Winning the 2025 Ironman World Championship With exciting patience he showed a rider beyond his years.
On the back of a strong swim and bike, Stornes literally escaped a world-class field to record the fastest marathon of the day in Nice, and nearly did the same in Marbella, Spain, at the 70.3 World Championships.
And so all eyes are on Stornes this weekend in Southern California, as he returns to racing for the first time since his podium finish at the 70.3 World Championship. With a quiet swim and bike, we expect to see Stornes near the front throughout most of the day at Oceanside this weekend, so it made sense to spend some time with the Norwegian (and his bike) on the San Diego County sand and learn more about his preparation for Saturday.
Take a look at Casper Stornes Pinarello Boled FTT less:
Casper Storness 2026 70.3 Oceanside Pinarello Bullet FTT
Unlike many leading aerodynamic deep-rim trail bikes and training bikes, the Pinarello Bolide F TT from Stornes takes a more flexible approach. Inspired by the fins of humpback whales (yes, you read that correctly), the Bolide F TT seat uses a special AeroNode design to reduce turbulence around Stornes’ legs.
Although many of his competitors opt to use a 1x drivetrain, Stornes will race at Oceanside with a 12-speed Shimano Dura Ace groupset, including a front derailleur on a beefy 58/44T chainring with a 165mm crankset. To measure energy, it will also rely on Dura-Ace technology.
Here we take a closer look at Stornes’ relatively simple Shimano 11-30t cassette mounted on a Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur. Pictured here, we see Stornes’ Princeton CarbonWorks Dual 5550 Evolution training wheelset, but on race day, he told us he’d be riding a Princeton CarbonWorks Blur 633 V4 Disc paired with a Mach 7580 TSV2 three-spoke wheel.
On race day, Stornes will use a 30mm Continental Archetype rear tire and a 28mm GP5000 STR front tire. Here we see a 28mm Continental GP5000 STR training setup.
Here we take a closer look at the Bolide F TT’s seat tube and unique whale-inspired AeroNode design.
In keeping with the fairly stock setup, Stornes uses most basic bars and aero extensions (mostly a Pinarello house trademark) with a Drag2Zero between the cranks and a TriRig bottle holder.
Here we take a closer look at a small custom modification: Stornes chose to use Wattship armrest foam in most of its accessories.
Another little custom touch includes the World Champion logo on the Stornes top tube.
On race day, Stornes chose to use a Selle Italia Watt 3D saddle with an EZ Gains behind-the-saddle hydration rack and a TriRig bottle holder.
