Mark Cavendish paid tribute to 38-year-old Bernhard Eisel after the latter announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Cavendish and Eisel were teammates for 10 years, running together at T-Mobile/HTC and later at Team Sky and Dimension Data.

In 2007, when Cavendish turned pro with T-Mobile, Eisel joined from FDJ, and the Austrian became an important part of the engine room that led Cavendish to 20 Tour de France stage wins in four years.

When Cavendish moved to Team Sky in 2012, Eisel moved with him, and Cavendish went on to win three more stages in the Tour, with Bradley Wiggins taking the overall title. Cavendish was with Sky for only one year before moving to Quick-Step, while Eisel stayed with the British team for three more years.

The two reunited in 2016 at Dimension Data, where Cavendish won four stages in that year's Tour, along with lead-out man Mark Renshaw. Cavendish then contracted the Epstein-Barr virus, and Eisel suffered a serious brain injury in 2018. Eisele returned to full competition in 2019, but announced his retirement on Wednesday, although he had planned to continue racing through 2020.

In connection with Eisel's statement, Cavendish wrote on social media, "I genuinely cried reading this."

"More than teammates, more than friends, we are brothers. I couldn't win an argument with you, but I couldn't have won the races I have won without you. Thank you for all you have done for me, for the peloton, and for cycling. I love you."

In his statement, Eisele referred to himself, Cavendish, and Renshaw as the "Three Musketeers." Mark Renshaw also retired after last season, so the Manxman was the last of the trio still racing.

Cavendish will race for Bahrain McLaren in 2020 and hopes to return to his best under the guidance of his old coach, Rod Ellingworth.