Julian Alaphilippe has been sporting a nice watch in races recently and even wore it on the opening stage of the Tour - when he crashed hard wearing the very, very expensive item.
Despite the risk of crashing and damaging his time piece, Alaphilippe's watch costs in the region of €120,000, though prices vary and many for sale online cost significantly more; up to €160,000.
However, it doesn't have any technology that tells him how fast he's going, how many Watts he's producing or how his heart is performing. Instead, it's just a very expensive watch.
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The one the French rider is wearing is definitely made by Richard Mille and judging by the photos of Alaphilippe wearing it during the Tour, it looks like the brand's RM 67-02 Automatic Sebastien Ogier model.
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Richard Mille watches are favoured by the rich and famous with plenty of money; Formula 1 drivers featuring on the French company's publicity material.
Richard Mille is a Swiss luxury watchmaking brand founded in 2001 and is based in Les Breuleux, Switzerland.
The brand has a strong association with cycling as it is a sponsor of the Bahrain McLaren team. And according to Richard Mille, one of the partners in the company, when he met team rider Mark Cavendish the Manxman was so overcome he became emotional.
"First, I realised Mark was a fan of the brand because he sent some glasses that he had worn during the Tour de France. And we started corresponding like this," says Mille on his company's website.
"And after that, we met for the first time at the Tour de France in 2016. He was in tears when I went to see him on the starting line and kept telling me ‘I can’t believe it’."
It's not clear if Alaphilippe is wearing the watch as some kind of sponsorship deal or if he just liked the look of it and decided to buy it.
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