Chris Froome contemplates rare Tour-Vuelta double

The 30-year-old Briton, enjoying the release of being able to eat what he fancies after three weeks of rigorous discipline, revealed that a bid to win back-to-back grand tours "could be on the cards" as he leans towards a crack at the Vuelta.

Back in Britain following his second victory in the last three editions of the world's greatest cycle race in Paris on Sunday, Froome said the "massive challenge" of the Tour-Vuelta double was at the back of his mind.

Runner-up last year and in 2011 and fourth in 2012, Froome's record in the Vuelta is impressive but only two cyclists in the history of the sport, great Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978), have achieved this monumental feat.

Talking of the Vuelta challenge, Froome told Sky Sports News: "I would say it's a bit early to say 100 percent but I think that could potentially be on the cards, certainly.

"I know it would be a massive challenge to back it up with another grand tour now, especially to go there with the aim of going for the general classification again.

"But yeah, that's at the back of the mind and maybe that could be on the cards."

Yet Froome appreciates the incredible effort needed to win just one grand tour, never mind two.

Alberto Contador, winner of the year's first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, saw his double attempt blunted by fatigue as he finished fifth in the Tour.

Froome is determined to enjoy a rest, however brief, with the Vuelta starting in Puerto Banus on August 22.

"It's going to be great now just to switch off for a few days. I just had a bacon butty this morning and it felt fantastic just to have something I haven't had in many months," he said.

Dave Brailsford, principal of Froome's Sky team, has also advised him to take it easy.

"He's the first British guy ever to win two Tours, it's incredible what he's done, and I don't think we should be encouraging him to look ahead at the minute," said Brailsford, noting that Froome will become a father for the first time later this year.