Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome found himself physically targeted by an angry spectator on Thursday as Team Sky's historic day at l'Alpe d'Huez was overshadowed by boos directed at both him and stage winner Geraint Thomas.
Race leader Thomas became the first rider to win on the iconic climb while wearing the yellow jersey but he was jeered and whistled at by the French crowd at the podium ceremony.
Defending champion Froome, who finished fourth, was also booed all the way up the 21 hairpins of l'Alpe d'Huez, and was even slapped on the shoulder by an angry spectator who ran alongside.
"I didn't see that... If people don't like Sky and want to boo, boo all you like, but let us race," Thomas told a news conference.
"Don't touch the riders, let us race, don't spit at us, have a bit of decency. Voice your opinion all you want but let us do the racing."
The Welshman, who won the Criterium du Dauphine last month, won the 12th stage with a late acceleration at top of the 13.8-kilometer climb to beat Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and France's Romain Bardet, while further extending his overall lead over his Sky team leader Froome.
Yet both he and Froome had to endure a hostile reception throughout the day, a pattern that has emerged since the teams' presentation in the Vendee region two weeks ago.
Team Sky, whose domination is reminiscent of that of Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal team in the early 2000s, have been largely unpopular in France.
Froome, who won the Tour in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017, was cleared of a doping offence just before the start of the race after he tested positive for excessive levels of an anti-asthmatic drug during last year's Vuelta.
Elsewhere, former champion Vincenzo Nibali has pulled out of the Tour with a fractured vertebra after crashing near the end of the stage.
The 33-year-old Italian, who was fourth in the overall standings -- two minutes and 37 seconds off the race lead -- was following an attack from Froome when he suddenly hit the ground but he did not assign any blame for the crash.
"There were two police motorbikes and the road became narrow, there were no barriers and Froome attacked, traffic slowed down and I fell," said Nibali.
"My back hurts. I had trouble breathing and now I don't feel well standing."
Nibali was later taken to hospital where scans revealed a fractured vertebra. He will now return home to recover.