Mark Cavendish ended his season without trying for another victory, in Paris-Tours (October 11). The Briton did not start stage four of the Tour of Missouri, due to a lung infection and has not raced since then.

Columbia-HTC’s directeur sportif, Brian Holm, explained why Cavendish won’t line up in France. “It’s been a long season, so there’s no plans for Cavendish to do Paris-Tours this year,” he told Cycling Weekly.

Cavendish scored 24 season wins, the most among his colleagues. His best performance came at the Tour de France, where he won six stages. In the Tour of Missouri Cavendish won the first two stages, but lost the lead on day three, tied on time with Thor Hushovd.

Cavendish started his winning campaign on February 4, when he won the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar.