Tudor Pro Cycling Team

Matteo Trentin

Alberto Dainese

Michael Storer

Arvid de Kleijn

Marius Mayrhofer

Yannis Voisard

Alexander Kamp

Lucas Eriksson

Sebastien Reichenbach

Marco Brenner

Maikel Zijlaard

Rick Pluimers

Simon Pellaud

Hannes Wilksch

Arthur Kluckers

Petr Kelemen

Alexander Krieger

Florian Stork

Robin Froidevaux

Luc Wirtgen

Jacob Eriksson

Joel Suter

Roland Thalmann

Tom Bohli

Nils Brun

Sebastian Kolze Changizi

Aloïs Charrin

Mika Heming

Tech

News

Tech News

Tudor releases carbon fibre automatic watch for Tudor Pro Cycling team

If cycling bling is your thing, we’d say this is a far more interesting choice than a set of oversized pulley wheels. 

 has released a carbon fibre watch designed around the needs of their 

 team, who are currently making their Grand Tour debut at the 

The new watch is a cycling-specific edition of their existing Pelagos FXD Chrono, an automatic (self-winding) watch with a stopwatch. 

It's a luxury Swiss watch with a price tag to match. In fact, at £4,560 / 4850 CHF, it’s one of the few things that makes high-end cycling tech seem like good value.

The watch has several cycling-specific features that set it apart from the standard edition. Most obviously, there is the carbon composite case. Carbon fibre is a material synonymous with performance cycling. Although Tudor has not published the weight of the watch, it’s likely a touch lighter than the usual stainless steel.

Of course, the timer (or ‘chronograph’) could be handy for timing efforts on the bike, but there are a host of more subtle features too. The case has fixed strap bars, rather than the spring bars you’d find on most watches, so there’s no chance the strap will spring open while riding.

Around the stopwatch is a spiral of printed numbers, designed to show how fast you’re riding using a simple ‘distance over time’ calculation. It’s called a tachymeter, and it’s a common feature on motorsport-inspired watches. For this one, though, Tudor has scaled the speeds to be useful for cyclists — between 20kph and 60kph. It certainly won’t compete with the precision of a GPS head unit, but it’s a neat feature.

Although this watch has several nods to the needs of cyclists, this is more of a cycling ‘lifestyle’ piece rather than a piece of performance tech. Tudor Pro Cycling Team riders, who were invited to the Giro for the first time this year, have not been wearing the watch during stages, although they have been seen wearing it at press conferences and sign-ons.

It might not provide a marginal gain, but this is luxury bike tech taken to the next level.

More information about the watch can be found 

For more of the latest tech updates, visit our 

Racing

Interviews

Fabian Cancellara: 'Wout van Aert should focus on fewer things' like Mathieu van der Poel

 manager Fabian Cancellara believes that 

 should consider dialling down his focus rather than spreading himself too thin across multiple disciplines and types of races in order to maximise his potential.

 leader is one of the best all-round riders in the world, capable of winning Spring Classics, elite time trials and being one of the super-domestiques in Grand Tours, but like several other riders, he has run up against 

Analysis: Is the Van der Poel-Van Aert rivalry stretching to breaking point?

 last week, putting Van Aert to the sword in their first road encounter after dominating the Belgian in the cyclo-cross season. Van Aert has come up short - in comparison to Van der Poel - in the Classics for the last few seasons, winning one Monument to Van der Poel’s four, and Cancellara believes that the Visma rider should shift more emphasis onto fewer areas, to maximise his opportunities.

“I don’t know Wout but when you look two years ago with Wout, I don’t think he’s become slower, but he has to focus on one thing instead of being the last domestique rider for [Jonas] Vingegaard, and that sort of thing,” Cancellara told 

“It’s like with Filippo Ganna, he still thinks about the track and not just fully on the road, because in my opinion, he could still do Roubaix and Flanders. If you focus on one thing then it might make you better. It’s as if Van der Poel started to focus on his time trial. It’s not good and we can see with Mathieu that he focuses on fewer things but where he does focus he’s super good. The others have to work on this in my opinion.”

Cancellara watched the Spring Classics unfold from afar, managing his Tudor team to several respectable results but also casting his eye on the best riders in the world. At E3, he saw Van der Poel decimate the field in a manner befitting of his own standards during his heyday, while at Gent-Wevelgem the former pro watched on as Lidl-Trek pulled Van der Poel apart before Mads Pedersen dispatched with him in the sprint finish.

“E3 and Gent-Wevelgem were quite interesting races and they gave us some ideas but still, Flanders is Flanders. It’s a bigger race, and it’s just different and can’t be compared to what we’ve seen before,” Cancellara said.

Both races highlighted the changing nature of the Classics, and how momentum can shift from race to race depending on several circumstances. Van der Poel looks beatable under the right circumstances, while Lidl-Trek needs to rely on their collective cohesion to shine, and despite running third at E3, there are still questions about Van Aert and the durability of his team following several crashes and illnesses.

The Van der Poel rules: How to beat cycling's best Classics rider

“Those guys are beatable. I remember the ‘please have mercy, Fabian’ signs they put up for me. I was also human but if things are going perfectly then it can be more of a demonstration. But for me, winning Harelbeke wasn’t about the two-minute gap Mathieu had because if you saw the riders in the chase they had other things to think about. At the front, it was just a time trial to the finish but at the back it’s cold, there are attacks, and you’re thinking about other things,” Cancellara said.

“The performance of Mathieu was one thing in E3, and then we saw the change, the crash for Wout, and then we saw a strong Lidl-Trek on Sunday. What will be interesting to see is whether Wout can make a step up from Dwars door Vlaanderen to Sunday. Has he recovered and does he have enough confidence because Mathieu is more ahead on the current schedule? Is Wout’s team strong enough, and can they support him enough?”

A beginner’s guide to the Tour of Flanders

Spring Classics 2024: Essential guide to the races and riders

Lidl-Trek can win Flanders, anything is possible

Cancellara wouldn’t be drawn on his absolute favourite for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, instead highlighting the depth within the field, and picking out the final two ascents as the likely launchpad for the race-winning moves.

“With the last time they pass the Kwaremont and the Pateberg, these are tough climbs, and these two will have a deciding moment. There are others but with Mathieu, he’s so strong. What we don’t know is whether he’s had his peak. I don’t have favourites, maybe Matteo Trentin, for our team, but whether a rider has five stars or four stars, there’s a real balance, and it’s over a very tough race. In Gent-Wevelgem it was more about the diesel engines but Flanders will be different. Lidl-Trek, Wout and Mathieu are the three names, but when it comes to Trek it also depends on how they take on the race,” he added.

“They know how to win and lose Flanders but if they race properly then they can win. What they’ve done with Jonathan Milan has been excellent but maybe he’s a bit too big for some of the Flanders climbs, so they have to think again but you never know because anything is possible in Flanders.”

For the latest news, interviews and analysis from the world of professional cycling, be sure to check out the 

 to stay up to date with all of the action from cycling's most exciting season. 

Race News

Jasper Philipsen will decide on his next team after Paris-Roubaix as five teams hunt his signature

 will sit down and decide on his future team after 

 understands that five potential squads hope to sign the 

 at the end of this season and is looking to sign a four-year deal this summer as he solidifies his home for what should be the best years of his career.

 - Phiipsen’s former team - are currently in the running for the Belgian’s signature.

 and his current team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, have all expressed interest in building a roster around the sprinter. Soudal Quick-Step, who had been linked to the team earlier this spring, are not in the running as things stand.

 due to their investment from Red Bull, who are now the majority shareholders of the German team. According to sources, Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike) will make the move to the team next year, while Classics revelation Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) has already 

 earlier this month. The team signed Sam Welsford last year, and the Australian repaid their faith by winning three stages of the Tour Down Under during his WorldTour debut for the team.

Philipsen would bolster the team’s sprinting options and give them far greater depth in the spring Classics - an area in which they’ve previously struggled. Philipsen was second on Paris-Roubaix last year and won Classic Brugge-De Panne just a few days after his Milan-San Remo success.

Milan-San Remo: Jasper Philipsen takes victory in photo-finish sprint

UAE could also be a viable option, having worked with the Belgian during his neo-pro years between 2019 and 2020. 

 understands that despite holding the ranking as the best team in the world and having stacked options for stage racing, the team are keen on adding a sprinter after last year’s departure of Pascal Ackermann left them with only Sebastián Molano.

One of Philipsen’s main requirements is that a future contract runs for four years. The World Championships take place in Abu Dhabi in 2028, with a parcours perfect for sprinters. Winning that race would set up Philipsen for a new deal and at a high price, despite his advanced age.

Tudor, although not currently in the WorldTour, has built up a strong sprint and lead-out contingent under the stewardship of team boss Fabian Cancellara. They have signed strong sprinters over the last two years, including Alberto Dainese, but Philipsen would certainly elevate that roster.

Nice and ruthless? Merlier-Philipsen clash at De Panne reveals contrasting characters

EF Education Easy-Post currently focus on one-day events and stage races and hasn’t had a truly competitive sprinter for several years, perhaps going as far back as Tyler Farrar in the early 2010s. Signing Philipsen probably seems like a longshot for the American team at present but the Belgian would certainly provide the squad with a new pathway to victories.

"We need more time,” Philipsen’s agent Alex Carera told 

, although he refrained from confirming the teams linked to one of his star clients.

"Many teams, many big teams, are interested in him but we’ll only decide after Roubaix. For now, he just wanted to focus on his racing. He has many goals in the next two weeks.”

 to stay up to date with all of the action from cycling's most exciting season.

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Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Matteo Trentin	34	33	993
Alberto Dainese	26	16	776
Michael Storer	27	9	767
Arvid de Kleijn	30	20	596
Marius Mayrhofer	23	1	524

Tudor Pro Cycling Team

Tudor Pro Cycling Team

The Team

Top Tudor Pro Cycling Team Stories

Tudor releases carbon fibre automatic watch for Tudor Pro Cycling team

Fabian Cancellara: 'Wout van Aert should focus on fewer things' like Mathieu van der Poel

Jasper Philipsen will decide on his next team after Paris-Roubaix as five teams hunt his signature

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