Chris Froome said a “misunderstanding” led to a police officer knocking him off his bike after Stage 17 of the Tour de France on Wednesday.
Pictures emerged after the stage of Froome – wearing a grey jacket over his race jersey – responding angrily after the police officer tried to grab him as he was rolling back from the summit finish on the Col du Portet in the direction of the Team Sky bus.
“I was the first rider to come down the descent and one of the gendarmes grabbed my arm as I was passing,” Froome said.
“Obviously he thought I was a spectator going down the race route or something so he grabbed me. I was going at some speed so I came obviously, but it was just a misunderstanding.”
With no space to park the team buses at the top of the summit finish, riders had to turn around at the finish and descend back down the way they had climbed in order to reach the buses midway down the mountain.
Having given a few interviews at the finish, Froome donned a large grey coat over his white Team Sky kit and was accompanied by his bodyguard.
Froome is knocked off his bike by a French policeman (Photo Credit: Albert Secall).
Unfortunately, with some riders still climbing towards the finish, one police officer mistook Froome for a fan descending on his bike. The officer asked Froome to stop, which caused him and his bodyguard to crash.
Froome’s Sky team have accepted it was a mistake, but fans may be more cynical after the way he has been treated during the Tour.
Froome has also been spat at and shoved by angry spectators, while he had what appeared to be a clear liquid thrown over him during Stage 14 to Mende amid simmering resentment towards Sky’s domination of cycling’s showpiece event.