Mark Cavendish told a court Monday that he was threatened with a large "Rambo-style" knife during a November 2021 robbery at his Essex home.

Masked men broke into Cavendish and his wife's home and stole two expensive Richard Mille watches. The other two men deny the charges.

The trio is accused of stealing a watch, phone, and safe from Cavendish and a watch, phone, and suitcase from his wife Peta.

Cavendish appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday to give evidence and stated that on the night of November 27, 2021, Peta went to check on his voice at home.

The Guardian (open in new tab) reports that "I got up to follow her out [of the bedroom] and as I was leaving the room she started [up the stairs]," he said. She yelled, "Get in." There was a figure right behind her.

Cavendish explained that he tried to press the panic alarm but could not reach it in the dark before one of the intruders jumped on him and hit him repeatedly in the head.

"One of them held me down and the other took out a knife and held it to my face. 'It wasn't a knife like you would find in a kitchen. It was black and had a hole in it. It was a murder weapon."

A "Rambo knife" is a large survival knife with a saw blade, sometimes with a hole in the blade.

According to Peta Cavendish, the intruder specifically asked about the Richard Mille watches, which were worth £300,000 and £400,000 and were given to him as part of his brand ambassadorship, and threatened to stab Cavendish He said.

"One of the men then put him in a headlock. One of them held a large black knife to his throat and asked, "Where's your watch?" And he said, "Do you want me to stab you?" I said."

"They were very specific about the watch. I actually tried to explain that a couple of years ago they broke in and stole everything."

At the time, Cavendish was still recovering from a crash in Ghent Six in which he broke two ribs and had a collapsed lung. Peta said he had been "out of the hospital for maybe four days," adding that he tried to get his cell phone to call for help during the robbery.

"A guy on the dance floor that I didn't recognize yelled out, 'I've got a phone!' One of them said, 'Give me the phone, did you call the police?'" she said, adding that she threw the phone over the edge of the bed.

After the intruders left the house, Cavendish pressed the panic alarm and called the police and a private security company. Cavendish then cut his foot on a piece of broken glass when the couple went downstairs and discovered the patio door had been smashed.

Romario Henry and Oldewa Okorosobo deny the two burglary charges, while Ali Sesay has already admitted to two burglary charges. Police have named two more men, Joe Jobson and George Goddard, as suspects in the case, but neither has yet been arrested.

The trial is still ongoing and is expected to conclude later this week.