Cyclist Mark Cavendish and wife Peta have secured extra protection for the house after their burglary nightmare.
Back in November 2021, the Tour de France icon was held at knifepoint as intruders wearing balaclavas raided the Essex home, stealing two luxury Richard Mille watches worth around £700,000. Last month Romario Henry, 31, and Ali Sesay, 28, were handed prison sentences of 15 and 12 months respectively.
Some five months after the initial incident, the couple purchased a German Shepherd at a cost of £25,000. Not content with that, they've now added further reinforcements to the family abode.
The Daily Mail has reported that last week, they added a second dog of the same breed, since taking to social media with footage of the two animals together.
Both were brought from the Elite Protection Dogs company, who specifically train the animals to meet the requirements of customers. The company charges a minimum of £20,000 for its specially trained animals.
A spokesperson for the group said: "They have had a new addition. Two is always better than one." Indeed, Cavendish isn't the only high-profile sporting client they've supplied.
The company sold a Belgian Malinois to Argentina's World Cup final goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to guard his winner's medal, while the previous stopper to lift the Jules Rimet, France's Hugo Lloris, has also brought a dog from them. Tyson Fury also purchased a £20,000 Rottweiler to help guard his home.
Meanwhile Cavendish, considered one of the greatest road sprinters of all time, has been given a career boost after the B&B Hotels-KTM team confirmed they were disbanding, after the 37-year-old had agreed terms with them. He has since switched to Astana Qazaqstan though, keeping his hopes of a 2023 Tour de France appearance alive.
He has 34-stage wins in cycling's most iconic event, equalling the record set by Eddy Merckx. There were fears he would never get the chance to surpass the marker though before he struck a deal with Astana Qazaqstan.
Amid signing up, Cavendish said: “Astana Qazaqstan Team is going to be a great place to be successful, with a strong team led by Alexandr (Vinokurov), a champion on the bike and a gentleman off the bike. I’ve enjoyed a long career already, but the joy of riding my bike and the hunger to continue winning are as bright as ever.”
