Breitling Honours Eddy Merckx With A B01 Top Time

Breitling Honours Eddy Merckx With A B01 Top Time News Breitling Honours Eddy Merckx With A B01 Top Time To those in the cycling scene, Eddy Merckx is a figure that’s considered one of the greats, if not the GOAT of the sport. Across his professional career that spanned the mid 1960s to the late 1970s, the Belgian rider built a record that sounds impossible and remains untouched in the modern era: 525 victories, 11 Grand Tours, 3 World Championships and 19 Monument classics. As the 2026 Tour de France week begins in Barcelona on 4 July 2026 – cycling’s biggest annual race – Breitling pays tribute to Eddy Merckx’s legacy with the Top Time B01 Eddy Merckx. It’s a limited edition chronograph that follows last year’s Top Time Coppi and Top Time Bartali editions which then celebrated Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali – two Italian cycling legends who had an iconic rivalry during the postwar cycling era. Read more about the Coppi and Bartali editions here. The Top Time, first introduced in the 1960s under Willy Breitling, has always been one of the brand’s more graphic chronograph lines, representing speed, style and expression of the era. It’s a fitting line for a tribute to Merckx, whose career remains one of the most dominant in sporting history, and whose nickname, “The Cannibal”, was earned through his relentless appetite to win. It is worth noting that Breitling’s link to cycling actually goes deeper than the Top Time. Long before the line’s introduction, the brand was already producing precision timing instruments for a world increasingly shaped by sports and competition, and that included cycling-oriented stopwatches in the late 19th century. By the 1930s, Breitling had developed timing apparatus used for official cycling races. The Top Time B01 Eddy Merckx comes in a 41mm stainless steel case with mushroom chronograph pushers and a bright yellow dial, a clear reference to the Tour de France’s yellow jersey – worn by the leader of the race’s general classification. Silver chronograph subdials sit within Breitling’s signature “squircle” layout, while Super-LumiNova hour and minute hands add everyday legibility. Around the dial, the tachymeter scale sees the usual “Units Per Hour” text replaced by “Eddy Merckx” in a tangerine-toned accent. Like the Coppi and Bartali editions, Eddy Merckx’s signature also appears at the six o’clock, while the back of the watch carries the inscriptions “Eddy Merckx Tribute” and “One of 525”, a direct nod to his grand career victory total. Power comes from the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01, an automatic chronograph movement with a column wheel, vertical clutch, COSC certification and a 70-hour power reserve. The watch is offered on either a black perforated calfskin leather strap with white stitching or a stainless steel mesh bracelet to keep it within the Top Time’s vintage spirit. Tech Specs: Breitling Top Time B01 Eddy Merckx Movement Breitling Manufacture Caliber B01, automatic, COSC-certified, 70 hours of power reserve Functions Hours, minutes, small seconds and chronograph Case Stainless steel, 41 x 13.30mm, water-resistant to 100M Dial Yellow with silver chronograph counters Strap Black perforated calfskin leather strap with folding clasp or stainless steel mesh bracelet with butterfly clasp Availability Limited to 525 pieces Breitling