Olympic cycling legend Mark Cavendish has revealed he still suffers frequent flashbacks from a terrifying 2021 home invasion where masked burglars held a zombie knife to his throat.
“I get flashbacks all the time,” Cavendish told The Telegraph. “To have a zombie knife held up to your throat in front of your kid, it was horrific.”
The 39-year-old cycling champion described his helplessness during the violent raid at his Essex home, which occurred while his three-year-old son was present.
“Everyone thinks, ‘I’d fight.’ And of course I was swinging at first. But I tell you, anybody gets a knife held to their neck, you can’t do anything. Like, my wife’s there, my kid. I was helpless to do anything,” he said.
Mark Cavendish was robbed by balaclava-clad gangsters
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The intruders stole two Richard Mille watches worth a combined £700,000, along with a phone and a Louis Vuitton case during the raid.
The incident occurred at 2:30am on November 27, 2021, when balaclava-clad gang members broke into the family’s Ongar, Essex home.
The masked men were reportedly searching for a £2million sapphire Richard Mille watch that Cavendish had borrowed for an awards ceremony.
At the time of the break-in, Cavendish was recovering from three broken ribs and a torn lung following a cycling accident.
“I’m lucky because I was there. I’m happier I was there than if it happened to Peta and the kids when I was away. I would never have forgiven myself,” Cavendish said.
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Peta Todd, who was pregnant at the time, first discovered the intruders when she went to investigate a noise downstairs.
She rushed back to the bedroom after seeing “figures running towards her”, prosecutors told a previous trial.
Cavendish managed to press a panic alarm, but two assailants jumped on him and punched him, demanding he turn it off.
Mark Cavendish admitted feeling helpless after being robbed in front of his family
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The attackers ordered Cavendish to open his safe, but he was unable to do so as the batteries in the keypad had gone flat, leading to more violence.
Mrs Todd hid their young son under the covers to shield him from the scene unfolding before them.
She attempted to call police but one of the men, brandishing what she described as a “Rambo-style” knife, snatched her phone away.
Three men have since been convicted for their roles in the robbery at Chelmsford Crown Court.
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Mark Cavendish was frustrated after being ‘vilified’ for owning expensive watches
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Ali Sesay, 28, of Croydon, Romario Henry, 31, of London, and Jo Jobson were found guilty in separate trials during 2023.
A fourth suspect remains at large.
Cavendish has expressed frustration at criticism he received over owning expensive watches following the incident.
“That was almost the hardest thing. Being vilified for having expensive watches,” he said. “Firstly, Richard Mille is a partner. One of the partners who stuck by me on a personal level when I was at my lowest point.”
“I’ve done everything myself. I’ve paid my taxes. Even if I had bought [that watch] myself, how can I be vilified for that? Why shouldn’t I?” he added.