Chris Froome on Wednesday crashed following the brutally difficult 17th stage of the Tour de France after police mistook him for a fan on the way down the mountain.
Team Sky told reporters that there was a misunderstanding when police asked the rider to stop, which caused him to crash.
Froome was not injured, Sky said.
Froome had put a black raincoat over his racing uniform on a day when he cracked on the final climb to Col du Portet, drastically decreasing his chances of a record-tying fifth Tour de France title.
The incident came one day after police used tear gas to disperse a farmers’ protest that had blocked the road with bales of hay.
Froome was among a large group of riders whose eyes needed treatment due to the tear gas.
Froome has been a repeated target of fans at this year’s Tour de France after he was cleared of doping five days before the race began.
He had been racing under the cloud of a potential ban for using twice the permitted level of salbutamol during his victory at the Vuelta a Espana in September last year.
Froome has said that he has been repeatedly spat at since the race started, and spectators have punched him and tried to make him fall off his bike.
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