As riders roll up for the 89th Edition of the Tour de Suisse—Switzerland being arguably the home of watchmaking—it feels like the perfect moment to look at the peloton from a different angle and how intrinsically cycling and time are intertwined.
I’ve brought together a collection of timeless wristwatches, made famous by riders both past and present. Can you guess the legendary riders they are strapped to?
A historic interlude
Cycling was by no means the pioneer in timed racing; in fact, while others had been keeping an eye on time for 40 years since the mid-1800s, cycling didn’t catch on until the 1890s and early 1900s.
Even then, that was largely due to the British government banning bunch racing on open roads, giving us no choice but to race against the clock, setting off at minute intervals in the classic time trial format. Arguably, racing in Britain hasn’t changed much in the last 130 years, with organisers still struggling to get support from local authorities to close roads, and the local TT is still a popular pastime.
Our obsession with time was, of course, solidified by the great Henri Desgrange with the creation of the Tour De France in 1903 — although even then, the idea of the winner being the one with the lowest cumulative elapsed time took a decade to really cement itself.
No time like the present
The link between cycling and time goes much deeper than just the history of racing against the clock; Watchmakers have been strong supporters of the sport, financing races, riders and teams since the 1950’s.
You only need to glance at the modern peloton to see that this relationship is experiencing a massive renaissance. Brands like Tudor, Richard Mille, Tissot, and Breitling are offering up serious capital in exchange for prominent placement on teams’ jerseys and wrists of the biggest names in the sport.
This modern-day revival may well be a sign that the memories of the 1998 Festina team’s disasters have finally faded. Or maybe it is a testament to modern engineering. Aerodynamics are now king, meaning superstars like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van Der Poel are willing to sacrifice a few grams to show off a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of watch. From the brand’s perspective, clearly a worthy billboard for these exquisitely crafted masterpieces.
(Image credit: Justin Setterfield)
Fast men and luxury goods
The appearance of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van Der Poel wrists here shouldn’t be any suprise, given their current dominance in our sport, and for this reason, they wear the most expensive offerings. Both are sponsored by Richard Mille and, somewhat crazily, regularly wear these near-million-dollar watches out on the road.
Cycling has come a long way, and the wealth of the few shouldn’t be the measure of its health in the modern world. However, the prominence of these luxury watchmakers at the top of the sport is now very in your face, whether you follow your favourite rider on social media or just casually watch the day’s highlights.
The sports connection with time is not going away, and if anything, it’s only growing stronger as racing gets even faster and more furious, and riders continue to push the boundaries of what we all thought possible.
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