Indurain: Armstrong can beat my record

But Indurain warned the 30-year-old, who won his fourth Tour in a row at the weekend, not to relax if he wants to be able to savor yet another triumphant arrival in Paris.

"He will have to take it a year at a time," Indurain told Spanish sports daily Marca. "It is true that he is still young and, therefore, in terms of age he could win two more. But staying at the top can be very exhausting.

"In December he will have to start again from scratch and what he has done before counts for nothing. From then on everything has to work perfectly...But looking at how he dominated this year it is clear that he can win more."

Indurain, who monopolized the Tour between 1991 and 1995 when Armstrong was just starting out as a professional, said that even then the Texan showed he had the mental and physical strength to become a top cyclist.

"He was very good, but because he was young he was very inconsistent... From the start he had something, he was very strong and very explosive. He even beat me to win the world championship in Norway when he was only 22."

The Spaniard, who retired from cycling at the age of 32, believes that Armstrong's experience of recovering from a near-fatal cancer helped provide him with the extra strength of character needed to win the toughest race in cycling.

Born winner

"What is clear is that the cancer changed his mentality," he said. "It even changed his character -- before he was rather reckless and now he is more measured and calm. But before, just like now, he had great quality and was a born winner."

Indurain said it was almost impossible to compare Armstrong with himself and other Tour greats such as Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil.

"In terms of wins Merckx was the best, but times change as do the rivals, the equipment, the roads....Everything is different."

But he did say that Armstrong's reminded him more of Frenchman Hinault than any of the other riders.

"They are quite similar physically and are both very strong. I rode against Hinault and in terms of character he was also like Lance.

Hinault, who was nicknamed 'The Badger" because of his aggressive style and constant attacks, was a brilliant all-rounder excelling in all terrains claiming five wins and two second places in the Tour between 1978 and 1986.

Armstrong said during the Tour that he aims to continue racing until at least 2004 which, in theory at least, will give him the chance to claim a record-breaking six wins in a row.

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