The relationship between luxury watch brands and professional cycling is one of the most authentic crossovers in sport. As the Tissot x Pinarello Special Edition and the Richard Mille RM 64-01 Colnago collaboration demonstrate in 2026, that relationship has evolved from trackside timing into something altogether more intimate: a genuine exchange of craft between the watchmaker’s bench and the framebuilder’s atelier, a shared obsession with precision, marginal gains, and the mastery of materials.
A History Measured in Seconds and Stages
As far back as 1956, Breitling issued its Venus 188 Chronograph to celebrate Luxembourg cyclist Charly Gaul’s victory at the Giro d’Italia. The watch had the name of the professional stage race subtly inscribed on the dial. It was one of the first instances of a watch brand deliberately linking its identity to professional cycling, and it set a template that would take decades to fully develop.
The Breitling Venus 188 Chronograph “Giro d’Italia”, shown alongside Charly Gaul on his way to victory in 1956. A discreet dial inscription turned a race win into one of cycling’s earliest watch-world crossovers.
Tissot, which has been rewarding winning cyclists with a commemorative watch since the 1960s, became official timekeeper of the Tour de France in the 1980s, its relationship with race organiser ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) first formalised between 1988 and 1992 and subsequently renewed in 2016 for the long term. The demands of that role are extraordinarily complex where Tissot deploys eight to 15 timekeepers across every stage, monitoring classifications, tracking ever-shifting positions, and managing a photo-finish system capable of separating two riders by 3/10,000th of a second. Precision timing and precision engineering had found their natural home together.
Timed by Tissot, Greg LeMond races towards the Champs-Élysées in 1989, in the Tour de France decided by just eight seconds. Few sporting moments make a better case for the value of exact timing.
TAG Heuer partnered with the Seven Eleven cycling team as early as the early 1980s to promote their 2000 Series, one of the earliest instances of a watch brand using professional cyclists as brand ambassadors. More recently, Tudor became a title sponsor of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team in 2023, Breitling became a leading sponsor of the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team in 2023, and Richard Mille has supported UAE Team Emirates, the top-ranked team on the UCI World Tour. The peloton has become, in effect, a rolling showcase for Swiss horology.
The Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono “Cycling Edition” beside the Tudor Pro Cycling Team. Its carbon composite case and cycling-specific tachymeter make it more than a team-branded chronograph. Tudor says the watch was engineered for riders, with a 43mm carbon composite case and a tachymeter scale calibrated for cycling speeds.
Evidence that the trend extends beyond the headline names lies with Bremont’s identified cycling lifestyle credentials through its MBIII collaboration with Rapha in 2022, while independent watchmaker Unimatic created a special edition tool watch with Australian cycling apparel company MAPP.
What distinguishes the two recent releases by Tissot and Richard Mille from collaborations consisting of mere sponsorship is the genuine material and manufacturing common ground between watchmakers and bicycle brands. Both industries have undergone the same revolution in materials over the past three decades: the migration from steel and aluminium to carbon fibre, titanium and ceramic in pursuit of the same objectives of lighter weight without sacrificing structural integrity.
Tissot x Pinarello: The Ferrari of Cycling Meets Le Locle
Pinarello, founded in 1952 in Treviso and often described as the Ferrari of the cycling world, has carried riders to 15 Tour de France victories and more than 30 Grand Tour wins, more than any other manufacturer in cycling history. The Tissot x Pinarello Special Edition, launched in 2026 after 18 months of joint development, uses the same carbon fibre material found in Pinarello’s Dogma frames for its 42mm case, not as a marketing gesture but as a genuine shared material choice. The asymmetrical case draws inspiration from Pinarello’s distinctive “ForkFlap” aerodynamic feature, with the crown repositioned to 10 o’clock so it cannot dig into the hand while gripping handlebars, the dial textured to evoke asphalt, and the seconds hand shaped in Pinarello’s signature “P” and finished in Borealis blue. Accompanying the watch is a limited edition Pinarello Dogma F bicycle, available as an exclusive collector’s package of just 101 units.
Tissot and Pinarello translate road-bike logic into wristwear: forged carbon, an asymmetric case and a crown moved to 10 o’clock so it does not press into the hand while riding. The matching Pinarello Dogma F edition is limited to 101 bikes.
Richard Mille RM 64-01 x Colnago: Engineering at Any Price
At the other extreme of the price spectrum, Richard Mille approached the same territory with characteristic exuberance. Unveiled this week, just before the Tour de France sets off, the brand released a second cycling collaboration with Colnago after its earlier foray with the RM 70-01 Tourbillon Alain Prost.
Left: Colnago frames showing the brand’s distinctive Gilco tube profiles, a signature of Ernesto Colnago’s frame design.
Right: Richard Mille RM 64-01 Colnago, with skeletonised bridges with the same angular, reinforced geometry.
The RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago, limited to 50 pieces and priced at 800,000 CHF, was conceived as a tribute to the architecture of a Colnago bicycle, with components arranged to evoke the tubes, geometries and drivetrain of a bike. The star-shaped microblasted grade 5 titanium bridges are inspired by Colnago’s renowned Gilco tubes, the signature design of the legendary Colnago master frame, while micro-lugs nod to the brand’s C-Series bikes. The case combines Azure Blue and White Quartz TPT with 5N red gold detailing on the flange and crown, featuring Colnago’s “Ace of Clubs” logo.
As the peloton winds its way across France to the finish on the Champs Elyssee, wearing high end wrist wear, it is now obvious that watchmakers and frame builders have always shared a the same purpose, the relentless, obsessive pursuit of perfection in every gram, every surface, every detail, even if no one else will ever see it.
Author: Andrew Hildreth
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