Mark Cavendish assaulted by armed men during burglary at family home

The attack happened whilst Cavendish and his family were at their house in November

British cyclist was assaulted by armed men during a burglary at his family home back in November, which left him and his family 'incredibly shaken.' As reported by the BBC, the 36-year-old said that he, his wife Petra and his children were threatened 'at knifepoint' and 'violently attacked' by the four men. Cavendish was suffering from two broken ribs and a collapsed lung at the time after being injured during a crash when riding for his current team, Team Manx. The cyclist released a statement on his Twitter where he pleaded for anyone with any information to come forward. He said: "In the early hours of 27th November, while recovering at our Essex family home shortly after leaving Intensive Care, four masked and armed men forced their way into our home as we slept, threatened my wife and children and violently attacked me," he posted. "At knifepoint, they proceeded to ransack our belongings." "Two watches of great sentiment and value' were stolen. But far, far worse to be taken was the sense of security, privacy and dignity that my young family and everybody else is entitled to in their home." https://twitter.com/MarkCavendish/status/1468613826799153160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1468613826799153160%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fcycling%2F59585168 He then added: “The effect that this nightmare has had on my family is already heart-breakingly evident, so I beg anyone who may be able to help us with information to call 101, quoting reference 42/275184/21.” Essex Police have also confirmed that CCTV footage has been released of the group and have requested anybody who has information to come forward. Detective inspector Tony Atkin believes that the attack on Cavendish's home was a 'targeted incident.' "It is likely the people who stole these items are attempting to offload them for sizeable sums of money and I would urge anyone who is being offered these items to please get in touch with us - they are stolen property." "If you have been offered these items, please contact us immediately."