LUKE ROWE has agreed a three-year contract extension to stay at Team Sky, admitting he feels like “part of the furniture” with the British-based squad.

The 28-year-old Welshman has spent his entire professional career with Sky, joining in 2012, and his new deal will take him to a decade on the team.

Rowe said he was indebted to the team for the way they stuck by him after a devastating leg injury he suffered on his brother’s stag do last year. The injury was feared to be career-threatening but he returned to racing in early 2018 and helped Geraint Thomas to Tour de France victory in July.

“I’ve been with Sky since the start of my career and I really feel a part of the furniture here,” Rowe said.

“It’s been seven years and this deal will take me through to 10 years with Team Sky, so it was an easy decision. This is home.

“The team backed me straight away after my injury, whereas some teams would have turned their back. They helped me tackle the injury head on and looked after me every step of the way.

“If I’d have been out of contract one year earlier, I’d have been in a mess. I had a year to prove myself again and come back — to show that it hadn’t affected me and that I could reach the level I was at before.

“I was so fortunate to be in this team when I suffered such a bad injury. 

“Sometimes the stars just align and everything works out.”

Rowe said he planned to tackle the Classics again in 2019 — he has top-10 finishes to his name in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix — before playing a supporting role once again in the Grand Tours.

Rowe’s deal follows new Team Sky contracts for Thomas and emerging young talent Egan Bernal in the past few weeks.