Admitting he probably wouldn't have won the 2013 title without him, Froome said this was why he asked Porte to lead the peloton onto the Champs Elysees, a long-standing prestigious responsibility traditionally reserved for the yellow jersey wearer in the world's biggest bike race.

"It's always been seen as quite a big honour for a rider to lead the peloton onto the Champs Elysees and go over the line for the first time and I think given the support that Richie had given me in that tour it was the right thing to do," Froome told The Examiner.

"Richie had been there for me all the way through, in the toughest moments when I was struggling in the mountains. Even the year before in 2012 he had helped me out in that tour too.

"So it was nice to be able to give a small gesture of thanks. I moved up our line, called him out and said 'you're going to the front, you're leading us here'. He just grinned from ear to ear and happily led us on."

This year's tour did not go as smoothly for the 29-year-old Team Sky duo, Froome crashing out on the cobblestones and Porte contracting pneumonia when sitting second as the race hit the mountains.

But the Brit is happy to reflect on the 2013 celebrations in Paris.

"One of the signs that it was a great night is that I don't actually remember too much from it and a lot of that would have been thanks to Richie. I don't think he remembers much either.

"We had all the reasons to celebrate that night. The team had delivered me to Paris in a fantastic way and it was a nice way for us to finish things off and say thanks to the guys for all the hard work."

Froome said Porte's help, particularly when all rival general classification teams are down to just their team leader, is difficult to quantify.

"There is obviously the physical element of the slipstream that he's creating and helping set the pace on the climbs but it goes much further than that.

"It's also the mental aspect of having the assurance that you've got someone who you trust and who you can rely on who's with you that late in the game, especially when it comes down to that crunch moment in the race where obviously it's a lot tougher. You can't just go back to the car and get something when you've got someone like (Alberto) Contador attacking you.

"That's where Richie is a huge help. The number of times he's had a spare gel for me or given me his bottle and said 'OK go for it, I've done my job'. He plays a huge role there.

"That psychological advantage when you've got the numbers there with two of us and only one of them, it's a powerful thing and unnerving for the opposition. It puts me in a really good place."