If he'd taken a few months off, he would not now be the 4th greatest 1yr rider in history.
This /\ /\
4th best in the World..ever...ever.. is NOT a failure of any kind*
*When it's a 365 day, 200 miles a day type of challenge**, then it becomes even less of a failure.
(I'd wager that cycling 1 mile every day, 365 days in succession, is quite difficult.)