Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, has called on cycling fans to respect Chris Froome and his yellow jersey after the Team Sky rider complained that he had urine thrown at him during the stage to Mende. Teammate Richie Porte revealed that he was punched in the Pyrenees and other riders have said they have been spat at.
Team manager Dave Brailsford suggested to Sky Sports that “the French crowd here is out of control”, describing the aggressive fans as a football mob.
"You want to see it. We took videos, and maybe we should take images, of how mob culture is taking over what we have to drive through every day, and I think people will be shocked," Brailsford said.
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Prudhomme spoke to several news agencies before the start of the stage in Mende in an attempt to persuade the roadside fans to respect the riders.
"The behaviour of certain spectators, a minority obviously, is evidently intolerable," Prudhomme told the Reuters news agency. “Insulting the integrity of the yellow jersey is unacceptable.
"The top racer has never been liked in the history of the Tour de France. It was true with Jacques Anquetil, it was true with Eddy Merckx, and it's being repeated now. But there must be a minimum of respect.”
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