Cycling great Mark Cavendish has opened up on the horrifying robbery which saw him threatened with a knife in front of his wife and child, leaving him mentally scarred
Cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish says he still suffers from flashbacks after a violent robbery saw him threatened with a zombie knife in front of his wife and young son by a group of balaclava-clad men.
The Manx Missile, 39, who won a record 35 stages of the Tour de France in his career – which he called time on last year – also won Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals for Great Britain and the Isle of Man.
But back in November 2021, masked men broke into his house and threatened him with a “Rambo-style” knife in front of his wife, Peta Todd, and son, Casper, who was just three at the time, before making off with two Richard Mille watches worth a massive £700,000, as well as a phone and Louis Vuitton case.
The terrifying incident still haunts Cav, who won the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, leaving him questioning his own worth, with the thieves looking for a sapphire watch worth an estimated £2m which the cyclist didn’t even own.
Two men were jailed for their role in the robbery in February 2023, while another was convicted later that same year. A fourth suspect is thought to still be on the run.
Cavendish told the Daily Telegraph: “I get flashbacks all the time. To have a zombie knife held up to your throat in front of your kid?
“You think about what you could have done. 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. My wife’s there, my kid. I was helpless to do anything.
“To be fair, 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 says one of the hardest parts about the ordeal was that he didn’t even have what the gang were after in the first place. And that is something which has left him questioning how he lives his life and what he spends his money on.
He added: “They were looking for a watch that didn’t even belong to me. I had borrowed it for something. The GQ awards or something. Then I’d given it back.
“That was almost the hardest thing. Being vilified for having expensive watches. 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. Secondly, you’ve seen today where I’ve come from. I’ve done everything myself. I’ve paid my taxes.
“Even if I had bought [the watch] myself, how can I be vilified for that? Why shouldn’t I?”