A man has pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in connection with a break-in at former world champion Mark Cavendish’s home last November.
28-year-old Ali Sesay, of Rainham, east London, admitted to stealing Cavendish’s watch, phone and safe, along with his wife Peta’s watch, phone and suitcase.
Sesay, along with two other men, had previously pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The other defendants, Romario Henry, aged 31, and Oludewa Okorosobo, 28, both from south-east London, continue to deny two counts of robbery and are due to stand trial from 3 January. Henry and Okorosobo were remanded in custody at an earlier hearing.
> Men plead not guilty to violent robbery at Mark Cavendish’s home
Sesay has also been remanded in custody, with Judge Mary Loram QC informing the 28-year-old that his sentencing would be adjourned until the outcome of the other defendants’ trial.
At 2.35am on 27 November 2021 four masked men broke into Cavendish’s home in Ongar, Essex, just days after the sprinter had returned there after being discharged from hospital in Belgium following a serious crash at the Ghent Six Day, in which he sustained broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Cavendish said he was “violently attacked” during the burglary, with the robbers escaping with two ultra-expensive Richard Mille watches and a Louis Vuitton suitcase. According to the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider, the armed gang also threatened his wife and children before ransacking the house.
> Mark Cavendish burglary: Two more men charged over violent robbery at sprinter's home
37-year-old Cavendish has been the subject of fervent transfer speculation in recent days, with the French UCI ProTeam B&B Hotels-KTM rumoured to be interested in securing the Manx rider’s signature for 2023.
Despite winning a stage of the Giro d’Italia and becoming British national road race champion for the second time, Cavendish was denied the opportunity to surpass Eddy Merckx and become the Tour de France’s most successful stage winner when he was left out of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s squad for cycling’s biggest race.
> "It's 50/50": Team boss hopeful of Mark Cavendish signing
While his appearance at a Rapha event in July set tongues wagging over a potential move to EF Education-EasyPost, this week B&B Hotels’ manager Jérôme Pineau confirmed that his team were interested in making Tour history with the 34-time stage winner, but that the deal is “quite complicated” and remains a “50-50” chance.
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Disappointed with the guardian, tbqh. ...
The problem is a political one rather than technical. The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Transport for London, and the Department...
British Cycling seem to be completely blind to the sport of cycling and what it means.
Hard to know who is up for the TDU and who is putting some miles in their legs... other than sprinters.
Visited Oxford late last year, better half had a week off, I took a day off and suggested a day in Oxford, she was very happy and excited. (Rode...
Try kill someone in a car and you get virtually 0 punishment .
'Useless"? You're not one of those "outdoor cycling" purists by any chance?
Every time we have a storm in the UK, many trees are blown down, so a few trees removed for a family cycle lane will not make much difference to...
Every mechanic I know hates Muc-Off Wet Lube with a fiery passion because it accumulates gunk like no other....
I wouldn't worry about it. Secret_squirrel is only the sole arbiter of what is acceptable for discussion in road.cc comments in his own head,...