Two men have denied robbing Olympic and Tour de France cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife Peta at their home.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard the couple were threatened at their house in the Ongar area of Essex at 02:35 GMT on 27 November.
Romario Henry, 31, of Lewisham, south London, and Oludewa Okorosobo, 28, of Camberwell, south London, pleaded not guilty to two counts of robbery.
They are due to face trial on 3 October.
A third defendant, 27-year-old Ali Sesay, was not asked to enter pleas to the two charges.
Essex Police said no-one sustained serious injuries during the raid, but Mr Cavendish said in a statement that his family were “extremely distressed” and “feared for their lives” by it.
The force said a Louis Vuitton suitcase and two high-value watches were stolen.
Mr Henry, of Bell Green, and Mr Okorosobo, of Flaxman Road, were remanded in custody.
Mr Sesay, of Holding Street, Rainham, east London, was also remanded in custody and is due before the court for a case management hearing on Friday.
At the time of the incident, Mr Cavendish, 36, was recovering from significant injuries he suffered in a crash in a track event in Belgium earlier that month.
The cyclist, originally from the Isle of Man, won four stages at last year’s Tour de France, equalling the tour record of 34 set by Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.
His best Olympic placing was winning silver in the omnium in the velodrome at Rio 2016 and he was the BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner in 2011.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk