Mark Cavendish targeted in knifepoint raid at home, court told

Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife were subjected to a knifepoint robbery while at home with their children – with one masked raider threatening to stab the athlete, a court heard.

The intruders made off with two Richard Mille watches, valued at £400,000 and £300,000 respectively, during the raid in the Ongar area of Essex, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

Cavendish and his wife Peta were in bed with their three-year-old child when they were awoken by noise in the early hours of November 27th, 2021, said Edward Renvoize, opening the prosecution case on Tuesday.

He said that Cavendish thought the noise was “male voices and people walking around in the house”.

“Because Mr Cavendish was recovering from a number of injuries at the time it was Mrs Cavendish who got up and went to investigate what they had heard,” Mr Renvoize said.

“Her first thought was perhaps her older son had got up and may have knocked something over downstairs.”

He said Peta heard male voices that appeared to be coming from the kitchen area.

“She was next aware of figures of people running towards her,” said the barrister.

“She ran back up the stairs shouting for her husband to get back into the bedroom.”

Mr Renvoize said that she got back into the bedroom and Cavendish looked for a “panic alarm that he had”.

Mr Renvoize said that some of the raiders “jumped on” Cavendish and “began punching him and telling him to turn the alarm off”.

“One produced a knife and threatened to stab him up in front of his children,” said the prosecutor.

“At this point there were three in the room and they began asking where the watches were.

“There was a safe in the room and he was ordered to open it.

“When he tried the battery appeared to have gone dead.

“He said