Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain said Tadej Pogachar's second win in cycling's top race makes the Slovenian the man to beat at the Tour de France in July.

Until this summer, Indurain was the only rider in over 30 years to win his first and second Tour in succession. Since 1995, when Indurain last won the Tour, only Alberto Contador, Chris Froome (Israel Startup Nation), and Pogachar have won the Tour twice.

"One Tour win is a surprise, but two wins makes him a reference point," Indurain told El Mundo Deportivo.

Indurain also added that winning the Tour this summer was not a simple task: "He knows how to overcome many crashes and difficult moments."

Citing the Slovenian's strengths, Indurain said of Pogachar: "He is high quality, passionate, likes to attack from a distance, and does well in time trials. He is a strong and brave rider all year round. His rivals will have a hard time".

However, although Indurain cited Pogachar as an important reference point for the Tour, he warned against putting too much pressure on Spain's younger generation with Alejandro Valverde's (Movistar) impending retirement. He also described himself as "a fan of Greg Van Avermaat (AG2R Citroën).

"Here in Spain we have Valverde. He is still at a good level, but he is not the same as he used to be. Izagirre (Ion and Gorka), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Enric Mas (Movistar), and Marc Soler (Movistar) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).

"But generationally speaking, there is a big change happening right now. Valverde's impending retirement is putting pressure on the younger players. Valverde's impending retirement is also putting pressure on the young players.

"They are quality racers and must continue to progress the way they have been.

Indurain told El Mundo Deportivo that he believes that a variety of factors, from young riders' greater access to information and technology to the fact that they are taking care of themselves in a different way than previous generations, "are helping them to reach greater heights faster. He said he believes that "it's helping them reach new heights faster. But it's happening in all sports. Everyone is getting younger

"I don't think cycling has changed much. Like any sport, technology has improved, there's more information on how to handle the effort, and there are new climbs, sure, but the classic climbs haven't gone away.

"So the bike and performance limits change, but in a race you have to pedal or move forward.