Tour de France

Race leader Chris Froome was left fuming today after an altercation with a spectator: "A fan threw a bag of urine over me and called me a doper. It was disappointing, reprehensible and wrong on so many levels. It was irresponsible, a despicable thing to do, and it really ruined the stage for me. There are many fans that support us but there are some that give everyone else a bad name."

The past winner of the Tour explained the incident: "It happened about 50 or 60 kilometers into today’s stage. A lot of the reporting on the race has been very irresponsible - the individuals know who they are."

Richie Porte, Froome’s teammate, added that he’d been punched while climbing the Piedra de San Martín. "Someone hit me full on," said the Australian, who also said that he’d been insulted on Wednesday. "I confronted this guy who shouted at me that I was a doper. He almost wet himself." The Tasmanian is a lot more prickly than his team leader but managed to display composure alongside his anger: "When people say these things I just laugh in their faces."

Froome took to Twitter to make his thoughts clear: "I’m disappointed that a French spectator decided to ruin a great stage. Congratulations to Stevo Cummings and MTN on Mandela Day." Froome, who has a British passport, was actually born in Kenya and grew up in South Africa. He praised his 'good friend' Cummings: "It’s a historic achievement for Africa and for Great Britain. My most sincere congratulations to MTN, a wild card team that are leaving it all out there and really putting on a spectacle."

He had more praise for his Sky teammates: "They were fantastic all the way up until the ascent to Mende. Quintana really pushed me there and I’m happy that I was able to keep my rhythm going and hold him off. Right now he’s my biggest threat."