A French court has sentenced two men to four years in prison for stealing a Tadei Pogachar watch during this year's Paris-Nice race.

The men stole a Richard Mille wristwatch with an estimated retail value of €165,000 from the team hotel in Valbonne during the race in early March.

Pogachar told a Nice court Tuesday afternoon that the watch, which was never found, was a gift from a sponsor after the latest Olympics, Nice-Matin (opens in new tab) reported.

"It was a special watch for me," Pogachar reportedly told the court."

"It's a wonder I was able to sell it so quickly, with no box or paperwork.

According to Nice Matin, the court heard that the robbery occurred around 6:00 p.m. during Paris-Nice, the night before Pogachal's overall win.

One of the two thieves tricked the hotel's trainee staff into entering their hotel room and taking their watches, saying they were guests and wanted to serve their wives drinks.

Pogasal, who was receiving a post-stage massage in a room on the same floor, was not in the room at the time, but left his watch in the room.

The two men were also found guilty of robbing two more watches from the safe of Nice's house.

In this case, the two thieves placed a tracking device under the couple's car and followed them home, where one rang the doorbell of their apartment, claiming to be the upstairs neighbor who had lost a pet bird. After letting him in, the thief removed a safe containing a watch.

Police arrested the two thieves on March 16, four days after Paris-Nice ended.

In addition to the four-year prison sentences handed down yesterday in a Nice court, the two were fined €50,000 each.