Chris Froome, leader of the British cycling outfit Team Sky, earned an overall lead of three minutes 10 seconds in Saturday's leg of the Tour de France race — and got a cup of urine thrown at him. 

The day's route had a steep stretch of 178 kilometers (110 miles) and cyclists would be moving from Rodez to Mende, where they would ride through the hills and plains on the Massif Central region, passing along the Tarn gorges.

Froome was about 50 kilometers (31 miles) into the stage when he noticed a roadside observer acting strangely.  

"I saw this guy just peering around and I thought, 'That looks a bit strange,'" said Froome. "As I got there, he just sort of launched this cup toward me and said 'Doper!'"

He added that the cup had urine in it and commented that the assault was "unacceptable on so many levels." Froome has had to fend off accusations of doping over his impressive performance.

A few days earlier, during Stage 10, Froome's Australian teammate Richie Porte was also attacked by what he thought was a plain spectator of the race. The incident, which occurred while they were on a climb in the Pyrenees, culminated with the stranger throwing out a fist at Porte.

"I was [punched] in the last three kilometers," said Porte. "I got a full-on punch."

Froome believes that the media is at fault with their "irresponsible reporting."

"A lot of the reporting on the race has been very irresponsible," he said, continuing, "the individuals know who they are."

With seven more stages remaining in the race, Froome's Team Sky has decided to contact the race organizers in an effort to add more protection for the riders to circumvent any future attacks.

The speedy team has come under scrutiny with critics claiming that they are not racing clean. Froome himself has made several assurances that he is indeed clean but still, some are not convinced.

"Unfortunately, this is the legacy that has been handed to us by the people before us, people who have won the Tour only to disappoint fans a few years later," said Froome.

The 102nd Tour de France 2015 started on Saturday, July 4 and will conclude on Sunday, July 26. There will be a total of 21 stages, with the total distance measuring up to 3,360 kilometers (2,088 miles).

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