Mark Cavendish tells court that home intruders held “Rambo knife” to his face
Former world champion describes terrifying break-in
On Monday, pro cyclist Mark Cavendish described how masked intruders threatened him with a knife before stealing two watches during a home invasion. Two men broke in when Cav was sleeping upstairs with his wife Peta on Nov. 27, 2021. The Manx Missile was testifying about the scary ordeal in Chelmsford crown court.
Cav, who is tied for the all-time Tour de France record for stage wins was recovering from a brutal crash at the Ghent Six-day in Essex when the attack occurred. After the robbery, he said that although two watches were precious to him, the incident itself left him and his family very shaken. “Far, far worse was the sense of security, safety and privacy that my family is entitled to.”
Romario Henry, 31, and Oludewa Okorosobo 28, both denied two counts of robbery in court.
Mark Cavendish said that he woke up after hearing some voices, he and his wife went to investigate.
“I got up to follow her out of the bedroom and as I was stepping out of the room is when she started to come back up the stairs,” he explained, according to the BBC. She told him to get back into the bedroom. The pro cyclist tried to hit a panic alarm, but he was blindsided when one of the intruders hit him in the head. Peta said that one of the attackers then dragged Mark “from his feet and started punching him.”
“One held me and another pulled out a knife and just held it in my face,” Mark Cavendish said. “It wasn’t a knife you have in a kitchen. It was black and had holes in it. It was a weapon.”
His wife said what happened next was simply horrific. “One of the men then had him in a headlock,” she explained. “One of them held a large black knife to his throat and they said, ‘where are the watches?’ and ‘do you want me to stab you?’”
The trial continues on Tuesday.
