Miguel Indurain, a five time Tour de France winner, has backed Chris Froome of Sky to defend his Tour de France title successfully but warns the Brit that Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador will make it a close race.

Froome will line up as the defending champion in Leeds next week and Indurain – based off USADA and UCI rulings over Lance Armstrong – is the last man in history to defend his Tour de France title. The Spaniard became the first man in history to win five straight Tour de France, taking his first title in 1991 in a run that lasted until he was beaten emphatically in 1996 by Bjarne Riis.

Speaking to the Independent, Indurain said “It’s going to be a good fight. He [Contador] has been much more consistent this year, more focused. Both are in great shape. But let’s not forget the other rivals; if Contador and Froome get too obsessed with beating each other, another rider could surprise both of them.”

The other rider may be Garmin-Sharp's Andrew Talansky, who pulled off a successful ambush while Frrome and Contador watched each other in the Dauphne before doing just enough to beat Contador narrowly in the overall classification.

“Repeating a victory in the Tour doesn’t get any easier just because you’ve done it once,” he told the Independent.

“Certain complicating factors disappear, but they get replaced by other ones. Ok, so you know you’ve got the physical ability to win the Tour. And you’ve got more experienced as a racer, too. But what gets a lot tougher from one year to the next is the increasing pressure from the outside world to win all over again.”

“The feeling of responsibility is greater, you’re more nervous. It never gets less complicated. Each year is as hard as the last.”