Riding around in style! Mathieu van der Poel signs deal to race in €300,000 watch
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel is on the brink of history as he chases a record-equalling seventh cyclocross world title tomorrow. Already a six-time world champion in the discipline, his star power continues to rise, having also claimed world titles on gravel and the road.
Off the bike, Van der Poel has secured a deal with luxury watch brand Richard Mille. He will now race wearing the RM 67-02 Automatic Extra Flat, a high-end sports watch valued at over 300,000 euros.
He joins a select group of cyclists, including Mark Cavendish, Julian Alaphilippe, and Tadej Pogacar, who have also worn Richard Mille timepieces. Back in the 2021 Tour de France, when Van der Poel wore the yellow jersey, he jokingly pointed out that he was the only classification leader without one, as Alaphilippe and Pogačar sported their watches while wearing the green and white jerseys.
Now, all eyes are on tomorrow’s race. Will Van der Poel claim his seventh world title, or will Wout van Aert deny him the record? Only time will tell, but one way or another, history could be made tomorrow. Van Aert will be the massive underdog, as Van der Poel has not lost yet this season and he has looked imperious throughout the year.
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Someone is gonna rob him at some point wearing that watch !
The robbed Cavendish of his watch and some others very recently. At knife point too with his family there. Being too flash can invite trouble.
If you read, he will wear it at races, like with the car, I doubt he takes anything home with him after. Besides, he doesn’t live in Britain which is years ahead of most European countries in terms of criminal audacity or desperation. Cyclists at home are pretty easy targets, even when present, so yes, obviously it’s a stupid idea to start a watch collection but as the article implies, MVDP hasn’t. Now, I don’t put it past someone to rip it off him during a climb in a race but if that happens then basically no-one wearing a luxury watch is safe anywhere anymore and these brands should go out of business. That said, I saw my 11y old sister get her plastic Mickey Mouse watch ripped off her arm through a 5cm gap in the window of a high bus but that was in Sierra Leone, so quick it was impossible to spot the perpetrator in the crowd along the road.
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- Pure class and nice for him to wait. After Tadej shared some liquids earlier. And besides Tadej took out that gap pretty instantly. No offense to Pidcock but he sat up at the top of a climb with the bridge over was obvious. And this is meant as no offense.mij09-03-2025
- What a ride! 💪
leedorney09-03-2025 - Pure classCrashjames08-03-2025
- If you have a hack to watch it on TV ;-)Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Katalin Szőke, how many media do you think ever got that right? In Britain, you’re asking for trouble to register your kids’ name with an accent, in France, even something as simple as á is refused as their software doesn’t have it.Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Awesome work today and I hope you can have a lot opportunities! Forza, Connor!
maria2024202408-03-2025 - Sorry, but a lot of cyclists can testify that there is truth to this training/race day paradox.Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- Cyclingnews: Pogačar and Pidcock are on Le Tolfe. This is the first of 2 times they’ll do this one -the next time, it’ll be the last of the race. Was that a tribute to Murray Walker?Mistermaumau08-03-2025
- I’m enjoying this version of Tom Pidcock. He knows what he can do, he knows what he can’t. He knows who he is up against, and he started the proceedings at 80km and was right to do so. Today’s second was a great ride.RidesHills08-03-2025
- I’ve said many times that last year was a good start to being the next Merckx, but he has to do it 4 or 5 more seasons in a row to compare to Merckx from ‘69 to ‘75. So far this season looks like a good start. 8 race days, 3 wins on the road and 1 GC win already. Last season started even better, but I don’t think he had plans to ride all 5 monuments last season like might be the case this year. Now to see what his closest rivals (van der Poel in the classics, Vingegaard in the stage races) can do.RidesHills08-03-2025