Mark Cavendish has explained why he opted to ride the Giro della Toscana and some of the other Italian Autumn Classics rather than the Eneco Tour, where many believed he would line up.

"There are two simple reasons why I decided to ride the Giro della Toscana. One is that it's near my home in Quarrata and two, as a team, we need WorldTour points," he told Cyclingnews. "There are only six points on offer for a stage win at the Eneco Tour and so that wouldn't change anything on our team's position in the rankings, so it's better if we target the general classification with Edvald. By riding the Giro della Toscana and the other one day races in Italy, I can pick and choose my schedule depending on how tired I am and to suit my build-up for the World Championships."

Cavendish says he was pleasantly surprised with his form in Toscana, where he made it over a tough climb to finish second from the bunch, after a four man break took the day.

"I'm feeling really good and I was excited about my form yesterday," Cavendish said. "I know the roads and it even passed my house, so that gives you an extra boost and extra advantage. I thought I was going to get over the final climb. I climbed better than I thought I would and that is a good sign of my form as the Worlds gets nearer."