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Cycling star Mark Cavendish
Photo: Bradley Collyer / dpa
Two men have been in prison for the attack on British cycling star Mark Cavendish and his family.
A court in the English city of Chelmsford sentenced the perpetrators to 15 and 12 years in prison.
They broke into the athlete's house in November 2021 and threatened him and his wife with a knife.
Then they robbed several items, including two watches, worth the equivalent of almost 800,000 euros.
One of the accused had confessed to the crime and was therefore given a shorter sentence.
His co-accused had denied the allegations but was found guilty by a jury.
Cavendish testified in court that he was woken up by a babble of voices.
"One held me, another pulled a knife and just put it in my face," he said. "It wasn't a knife like you have in a kitchen.
It was black and had holes in it.
It was a gun.” Peta Cavendish said she hid her three-year-old child under the covers so she couldn't see what was happening.
"This was a planned, targeted, orchestrated and reckless crime against an internationally renowned athlete and his wife," the judge said.
Two other perpetrators are still being sought.
Cavendish shares the record for stage wins in the Tour de France with Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx with 34 victories.
At the beginning of the year, the 37-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Astana racing team.
ast/dpa/sid