Tour de France Dir Christian Prudhomme "blamed the media for aggression aimed at yellow jersey holder Chris Froome as the Briton's Team Sky were protected by police before the start of Sunday's 15th stage," according to Julien Pretot of REUTERS. Froome "had urine thrown at him by a spectator on Saturday, four days after his Sky team mate Richie Porte was punched during the first mountain stage of the three-week race." Froome said "irresponsible" reporting caused the incidents, a view shared by Prudhomme. Prudhomme said, "There is a correlation between what is said in the papers, on TV, on the radio, and what happens by the side of the road." Doping suspicions "have been aired after Froome humiliated his main rivals in the first Pyrenean stage, with French TV pundit Laurent Jalabert, a former Vuelta winner, saying the Briton's performance made him feel uneasy." Froome: "They set the tone and people believe what they see in the media." Five police officers "were guarding Team Sky's bus before the start, though no incident occurred." Team Sky Sports Dir Nicolas Portal said, "The lads are scared" (REUTERS, 7/19). In London, Tom Cary wrote Froome has blamed the "irresponsible reporting" on this year's Tour by certain sections of the media, with his wife Michelle specifying the French TV pundits Cedric Vasseur and Laurent Jalabert, both former riders with links to doping, as well as the French sports daily L'Equipe. Michelle Froome "also named the former Festina coach Antoine Vayer and Ross Tucker, a South African sports scientist." Both "have questioned Froome's performance data in recent days, insinuating that he might be doping" (TELEGRAPH, 7/18).
