Bicycle Star - 340,000 Euro expensive: Pogacar wears luxury watch at the Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar leads the Tour de France at the beginning of the third and final racing week with a sovereign advantage of 3:09 minutes over his closest rival Jonas Vingegaard. Taking the Tour victory from him will be difficult, yet it remains exciting. The Slovene's win is not yet certain.
Before it continues on Tuesday with the 16th stage after a rest day, the Slovene made headlines with another story: his luxury watch, which he wears during the race. This is unusual because it could break in a fall. Nevertheless, it is worth around 340,000 Euro.
Pogacar is known as a watch enthusiast. However, he suggested that he did not buy the watch but received it from a sponsor. Of course, the yellow strap matches the leader's jersey that Pogacar wears. It weighs 32 grams. A similar version is worn by Pogacar's Formula-1 friend Carlos Sainz. "I love watches. And the possibility of wearing this model during the Tour thanks to a sponsor is very nice for me," Pogacar said. For context: The valuable piece costs more than the second-place finisher (200,000 Euro) and the third-place finisher (100,000 Euro) received in prize money after three weeks of racing.
Another luxury watch was stolen from Tadej Pogacar
The previous year, Pogacar made headlines with his love of watches. However, he would have preferred to avoid this moment. During the Paris-Nice race, thieves gained access to his team hotel room and stole a watch worth 165,000 Euro. "I will never forget this moment," Pogacar said.
The watch has not been found to this day, but the two men involved were sentenced to a four-year prison term. "The watch meant a lot to me. I find it amazing that they were able to sell it so quickly without a box or documents," Pogacar said. The two-time Tour de France winner has an emotional connection to his watches. The purchase price – assuming he had to pay it – would not deter him. The Monaco-residing cycling star reportedly receives six million Euros a year from his UAE team.
In light of his previous experience, Tadej Pogacar exercise caution with his luxury watches during the Tour de France, as he had a watch worth 165,000 Euro stolen during the Paris-Nice race the previous year. Despite the significant cost of his watches, Pogacar's emotional connection to them is stronger, as evident by his emotional reaction to the theft and his statement that the purchase price wouldn't deter him. Amidst his rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard for the Tour de France title, Pogacar's choice of a luxury watch as a sponsor gift adds an extra layer of intrigue to his victories, with the value of the watch exceeding the prize money of both second and third place finishers.
