A close look at Mark Cavendish's £180,000 Tour de France setup

Mark Cavendish has done it. The Manx Missile made history today with a vintage performance on stage five of the 2024 Tour de France. Cavendish took his 35th stage win, surpassing Eddy Merckx with whom he had previously tied the record. The team and its sponsors pulled out all the stops for this effort, resulting in a particularly special and unique equipment setup for the legendary sprinter. 

Cavendish was riding a fully custom bike frame, handlebar and stem, a custom helmet with a combined value of six figures — and that's without his £1000 / $1275 socks, which he left in the team bus today.

£1000 / $1275 socks, and why Cav didn't wear them

First and foremost let's tackle the rather extraordinary footwear, and why on earth Cavendish wasn't using them.

For the early stages in the Tour de France, including yesterday's stage four, Cavendish was seen wearing a set of new aero socks, which come with an astounding price tag of £999 / $1275.

The threads in question are the Nopinz P35 socks - P35 standing for project 35 - a reference to Cavendish's record-breaking stage victory. Details are scant on the Nopinz website, with the British clothing brand describing the socks simply as "Designed by champions for champions".

For whatever reason though, Cavendish opted for much more run-of-the-mill cotton socks for his 35th stage victory. We think this could have been down to comfort, superstition or even just as simple as not wanting his socks to fall down in the changeable weather conditions of today's stage.

A fully customized bike

For 2024, Team Astana Qazaqstan have been riding bikes from Italian manufacturer, Wilier Triestina, with Mark Cavendish opting for the Filante SLR aero bike over the new Verticale climbing bike.

Where his bike differs from any other though, is the wild custom paint job, which Wilier presented especially for this year's Tour de France.

In a nod to his previous world championship win, the bike features a splash of rainbow watercolours on the cockpit, headtube, down tube, top tube and fork. The overall result is impactful and utterly classy. 

On top of that, Wilier has also continued the paint scheme onto the one-piece integrated handlebar and stem — a particularly nice touch. Elsewhere on the bike, dashes of yellow and light blue can be found in the decals of the Vision Metron wheelset.

As far as cost is concerned, standard range-topping versions of the Filante SLR retail for €11,300 (around $12,191 / £10,316), but if you want the bike in the special edition Cavendish colours, you will have to cough up €13,300 ($14,350 or  £11,255).

Richard Mille RM 011

Bunch sprints are inherently risky, and we saw that showcased today with a nervous finish in which Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) hit the deck in the final 200 meters. To add a little bit of extra pressure to himself though, Cavendish battled with his bunch sprint compatriots wearing a staggeringly expensive Richard Mille RM 011 wrist watch. 

Though exact models vary in price, the RM 011 series watches frequently fetch between $150,000 and $180,000 (around £117,000 - £141,000) making Cav's outfit one of the most illustrious in the peloton.

Richard Mille watches are renowned for their innovative design, advanced materials, and high precision. They feature skeletonized dials and complex movements, blending technology with craftsmanship — and of course, a high price tag. Popular among celebrities and collectors, these timepieces are known for their exclusivity, adding to the theatre of Cavendish's 35th stage victory.

Cavendish isn't an official ambassador for the watch brand but has been seen donning their timepieces for a number of years, which even led to him being robbed by a gang in recent years.

Obviously, the Richard Mille doesn't exactly aid top-end speed, if anything the added weight would ever so slightly hinder Cavendish's acceleration in the final, but it certainly gave him some morale.

Overall it's an interesting setup for the Manx Missile, and one that just goes to show that the legs still have to do the talking, not matter how many aero optimizations you make.