Mark Cavendish has extended his contract with Team Dimension Data, ending speculation over his future.

The Manx Missile’s contract with the team had been due to expire at the end of the 2018 season, leading to intense speculation that the sprint superstar could join a new team for 2019.

However, after news that his close friend and team-mate Bernie Eisel had signed a new deal on Wednesday, it wasn’t long before it was confirmed that Cav had followed suit.

The contract will also see Cavendish take on a new leadership role within the team as part of a newly-formed supervisory board.

Speaking about the deal, the Manxman said: ‘After spending my last three years with Dimension Data I’m delighted to extend my contract, stay with the team that I love and people that I hold dearest to me in the sport. It’s also an honour to be part of a supervisory board that will work together to continue the growth of the team in cycling.

‘It’s no secret that both 2017 and 2018 have been very difficult years for me physically due to injury and illness. The physical fatigue suffered as a result of the Epstein-Barr is terrible but the most difficult part was the impact on my job which is my life and passion; not being able to do that is very difficult to handle and it takes a mental toll on you.

‘Growing up, all I ever wanted was to ride my bike – I loved riding my bike – and so not being able to do it and not being able to succeed, which is the only thing that I know, well it’s incredible as you realise then just how tough it is when things don’t go right.

‘In my 12 years as a professional with the teams that I’ve been in, I’m proud to say that I’ve made some history within the sport and one thing that matters to me is leaving a legacy, and not just on the sporting side.

‘The Tour de France record is massively important to me but equally is what we can give back by using the status we have within the growth of cycling, it’s hugely significant.

‘The main reason that I joined Team Dimension Data in the first place is the Qhubeka charity and that’s something that grows within my heart every day. To be able to put underprivileged kids in Africa on bicycles is something that sounds incredible but it’s when you really see it, it really grows on you.

‘You see the impact that it has on a kid, whether it’s being able to go to school or whether they just take the bike out and play with it, or whether it’s something that can be used for the family, it’s truly eye-opening. Something that I really look forward to every year is going to handover bicycles to a school.

‘The Tour de France record, it’s no secret that it’s the one goal that I have left in cycling. After winning 30 stages in my career another four doesn’t seem that much but I’ve always been the first one to say that winning one stage of the Tour de France is something that makes a rider’s career, so I know how difficult it could be to win another four; but I’m never going to stop trying.

‘I firmly believe that I will get it and I believe with the best people around me that I have the best chance of getting it. The day that I don’t believe I can challenge to get that record is the day that I probably stop riding my bike.

‘It seems that I’ve always made a career out of comebacks and I’m sure that 2019 is going to be no different after the couple of tough years with illness. I know that I’m on the right track to come back and dominate in the sport again.’