TOUR de France and Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish said today his family are “extremely distressed” after a group of masked robbers assaulted him and threatened his wife in a knifepoint raid while his children were in the house.

Four intruders entered Cavendish’s home in the Ongar area of Essex in what police described as a “targeted incident” in the early hours of November 27, as he was recovering from significant injuries from a crash at a track event in Belgium.

Essex Police said the group assaulted Cavendish, 36, and threatened his wife Peta in the presence of their young children.

The sportsman said in an Instagram post that the “four masked and armed men forced their way into our home as we slept, threatened my wife and children and violently attacked me.”

“At knifepoint they proceeded to ransack our belongings,” he said.

None of the family sustained serious injuries and the burglars left, stealing a Louis Vuitton suitcase and two high-value watches, the force said.

Police were called at 2.35am on Saturday November 27. No arrests have been made.