Professional cycling and high-end horology feel like they shouldn't mix. One is spandex at 90km/h; the other is the painstaking precision of Swiss engineering. And yet somehow, the peloton has turned into the world's most expensive, sweat-drenched watch showcase.
Just look at the week Tudor Pro Cycling Team has had. At the Tour de Pologne, Stefan Küng powered to victory in the final-stage time trial - while teammate Marco Brenner bagged the overall title. A historic double win, and proof that if you're going to grind through 1,000km of Polish asphalt, you might as well do it in style.
So whether it's a £5,000 Tudor built for mountain passes or a Richard Mille that costs more than most people's mortgage, here's a look at the watches setting the pace in cycling right now.
The watch on the wrist of 19-year-old French prodigy Paul Seixas - is a Chronomat B31 Automatic 40, which stands out with a chunky steel Rouleaux bracelet. Breitling made the 19-year-old an official ambassador back in July of this year, timing the announcement neatly alongside a new Top Time model built as a tribute to Eddy Merckx and, conveniently named, the Top Time B01 Eddy Merckx. Seixas' own piece comes in at around RM29,100, which, by the standards of this list, counts as a bargain.
This pink beauty was spotted on Luke Plapp's wrist at this year's Grand Départ, and it's already one of Tudor's most talked-about modern releases. Launched back in March 2024 and linked to the brand's celebrity ambassador roster (David Beckham's Inter Miami pink kit reportedly among the inspirations), it's a 41mm steel case on a five-link bracelet, water-resistant to 200m, running the same in-house Manufacture Calibre MT5813 found across most of Tudor's chronograph range. Official retail is around RM27,300 - though good luck finding one at that price, since limited numbers mean it's already trading well above sticker on the secondary market.
Already known for turning up in seriously expensive watches - a RM1.4 million Richard Mille has been something of a regular for him - Tadej really outdid himself at this year's Tour de France with a new Colnago-edition piece, built in collaboration with his own bike sponsor. This one could set you back, wait for it, roughly RM5.4 million. And even if you've got a spare million lying around, tough luck: only 50 will ever exist. So what earns that price tag? The skeletonised movement itself, apparently, designed so its bridges and internal architecture mimic the shape of a race frame - tubing, geometry and drivetrain, reimagined in tiny mechanical form.
Which brings things back to Tudor, who started this list with their sporting wins last week. Beyond its ambassador watches, the brand kits out its own Pro Cycling team with the Pelagos FXD Chrono "Cycling Edition", a specialized carbon-composite chronograph featuring a unique tachymeter scaled specifically for cycling speeds, ranges between £4,500 and £5,400 (approximately RM24,890). It seems to be a bit of a good luck charm if the Tour De Pologne was anything to go by.
So there it is — a seven-figure tourbillon, a hot-pink chronograph, a Merckx tribute piece and the Tudor lucky charm. Which one's earning a spot on your wrist?
Esquire Malaysia
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