Vintage Cycling and watches

[Dean Learner]

With the great historical threads of watches doing to rounds at the moment I thought there may be something in this.

I love a vintage watch and the aesthetic of vintage cycling so started having a dig around to see who wore what.

Cycling has had a mixed affair with watches and seeing as Festina probably got the most publicity of all for the drug revaluations in the 90s not sure any other watch companies will be lending their name to the sport anytime soon.

No brand wants this kind of publicity....

Isn’t that right Rolex...



On a brighter note the great Eddy Merckx had a relationship with Rodania




I just stumbled across Coppi and Bartali being given Breitlings



And a little know to me Giovanni Battaglin was known to race wearing his Rolex.



There’s certainly some history here and plenty of great photos requiring a more knowledgeable eye than mine to recognise some of the watches but thought this may be of interest to others and evolve into something.

In light of the Everest thread, what was the first watch to win the Tour de France? Any takers to answer this?

[trident-7]

If you’re a Richard Mille superfan like Tour de France cyclist Mark Cavendish, then getting a Richard Mille watch of your own can’t get any better than being given one straight from the wrist of Richard Mille himself. And that’s exactly what happened for Cavendish at the start of Tour de France (2016) Stage 5 in Limoges, when Mille requested to meet him.

Although Cavendish was admittedly a little starstruck, he impressed Mille enough for him to unstrap the RM-011 Felipe Massa 10th Anniversary Limited Edition on his wrist and hand it over to the world-class cyclist.

Limited to just 100 pieces and costing upwards of £150,000, this isn’t a watch you’d expect to see at all, let alone be gifted.

As if to show his gratitude, Cavendish won Stage 6 in Arpajon-sur-Cère the next day with the lightweight watch strapped firmly to his wrist, sporting it again later on the podium.

[Montello]

If you’re a Richard Mille superfan like Tour de France cyclist Mark Cavendish, then getting a Richard Mille watch of your own can’t get any better than being given one straight from the wrist of Richard Mille himself. And that’s exactly what happened for Cavendish at the start of Tour de France (2016) Stage 5 in Limoges, when Mille requested to meet him.

Although Cavendish was admittedly a little starstruck, he impressed Mille enough for him to unstrap the RM-011 Felipe Massa 10th Anniversary Limited Edition on his wrist and hand it over to the world-class cyclist.

Limited to just 100 pieces and costing upwards of £150,000, this isn’t a watch you’d expect to see at all, let alone be gifted.

As if to show his gratitude, Cavendish won Stage 6 in Arpajon-sur-Cère the next day with the lightweight watch strapped firmly to his wrist, sporting it again later on the podium.

Given how much time Cav has spent on the deck that’s a bit of a risk racing with that on your wrist.

[Montello]

With regards the OPs point most riders wore watches up until the advent of the digital cycling computer. I guess riders stopped wearing watches around the early 80s. I always wear a watch when riding.

[lughugger]

With the great historical threads of watches doing to rounds at the moment I thought there may be something in this.

I love a vintage watch and the aesthetic of vintage cycling so started having a dig around to see who wore what.

Cycling has had a mixed affair with watches and seeing as Festina probably got the most publicity of all for the drug revaluations in the 90s not sure any other watch companies will be lending their name to the sport anytime soon.

No brand wants this kind of publicity....

Isn’t that right Rolex...


On a brighter note the great Eddy Merckx had a relationship with Rodania

Lol. Cos Eddie never got thrown off any races for testing positive. Oh wait.....


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[Dean Learner]

On a “positive” note the great Eddy Merckx had a relationship with Rodania

Fixed?

Certainly under no illusions of the reality of chemical warfare involved in this sports history and in the current peloton.

Still a number of brands putting their name to it though. Somehow missed Tissot in the first post.

Found this article https://oracleoftime.com/on-your-bike/ which covers it all in a bit more detail.