Sir Dave Brailsford says those looking for evidence of doping at Team Sky might as well be by the banks of Loch Ness looking for a monster following Chris Froome’s success on Sunday.

The 30-year-old’s performance was scrutinised and subject to innuendo and interrogations after his dominant win on stage 10 to La Pierre-Saint-Martin.

It is a legacy of the drug-assisted era in cycling which has created a climate of suspicion.

Brailsford approved the release of Froome’s performance data from the opening Pyrenees stage, but that did not satisfy the accusers, for whom the Team Sky principal has a message.

“Tell them the Loch Ness Monster doesn’t actually exist,” Brailsford said. “It has been disrespectful, to come under the criticism and for people to say the things they have said about him with no foundation.

“They should go and spend their time sitting at the side of Loch Ness and waiting for a monster. It’s the same thing. We have still got people camping outside with binoculars saying, ‘I’m sure we are going to see the monster tomorrow’, but it never appears.

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“You can’t prove him negative, but there is a weight of evidence to show that we are doing it the right way, we are a clean team and Chris is just a fantastic champion.”

Froome is uncertain what to say to his detractors.

“There’s not much I really could say to them. I think their minds are already made up,” Froome added.

“I’m not superhuman like they make out. We’ve tried to be as transparent as possible without releasing too much of our competitive advantage. I think I’ve tried to be as consistent as possible across this race.

“I’d say if they want to scrutinise my performances that closely, then it’s only fair they scrutinise everyone’s performances on the same level.”