Paris ? Lance Armstrong’s fellow members of the Five Victory Club wonder whether No. 6 will come.

Who could blame them for hoping he doesn’t erase their names from the Tour de France’s record book next year?

Miguel Indurain sipped a coffee near the start of Sunday’s final stage, a mainly ceremonial ride in which Armstrong officially won his fifth consecutive Tour. Indurain is the only other cyclist with that many victories in a row.

Can Armstrong make it six straight?

“Of course, it’s possible,” said Indurain, a Spaniard. “But every year it gets more difficult, and he’ll face some tough rivals.”

Indeed, Armstrong triumphed this year by his slimmest margin yet — 61 seconds over Jan Ullrich of Germany. Each of Armstrong’s four previous victories were by more than six minutes.

Only three other men won the Tour five times, and none did it consecutively: Eddy Merckx of Belgium, and Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault of France.

Hinault was among the first to congratulate Armstrong when he pretty much sealed this victory by finishing ahead of Ullrich in Saturday’s time trial.

When Armstrong stepped on a podium to receive a fresh yellow jersey as the overall leader, Hinault leaned over to say, “Welcome to the club.”

Sunday, Hinault offered a mix of praise and perspective.

“Armstrong’s courageous, a fighter. Somebody who perseveres until the end,” said Hinault, who won the Tour in 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1985.

Five-time Tour de France winners, from left, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain, pose for a group shot. Armstrong, who won No. 5 Sunday, will try for an unprecedented sixth Tour title next summer.

The Frenchman added: “He’s certainly a star, but I don’t know if he’s a superstar. It’s a new generation of riders. They have radios, they work more closely in teams. It’s a different era.”

Indurain was one of the few people who predicted Armstrong could successfully overcome cancer and win the Tour in 1999. But the Spaniard warned that Armstrong, who turns 32 in September, will find it difficult to stay as fit as he is now.

“Winning five Tours is a rare achievement. Cycling is harder than most sports,” Indurain said.