Tour de France race leader Chris Froome, who had a cup of urine thrown at him during last Saturday’s Stage 14, was today spat at by a spectator, with the incident caught on camera.

Danish television station TV2 picked up on the incident, which happened towards the end of today’s Stage 19 to La Toussuire, where Froome finished third behind defending champion Vincenzo Nibali and Movistar’s Nairo Quintana.

– Tour de France Stage 19: Nibali takes solo win, Quintana takes time back from Froome

 

 

Team Sky have blamed the French media for fuelling sentiment against Froome and other of their riders during the race – Richie Porte was punched by a spectator last Monday, and members of the team have been subject to verbal abuse.

Froome himself has singled out ex-pro cyclists turned TV pundits Laurent Jalabert and Cedric Vasseur for dropping strong hints that they believe his performances are artificially enhanced.

The race leader was unaware of what had happened until it was pointed out to him in the post-race press conference: "We're human beings, and then we're sportsmen," he said. "People need to remember that.

"You can't come to a bike race to spit at people or to punch people or to throw urine at them – that's not acceptable at any level," he added.