Chris Froome has hit out at sections of the media following the incident which saw a cup of urine thrown at him and the Team Sky rider accused of doping.
Froome said in the after race press conference: "I certainly wouldn't blame the public for this. It really is the minority of the people out there ruining it for everyone else out here.
"But I would blame some of the reporting on the race that has been very irresponsible. Having said that, those individuals know who they are.
"I am not going into specifics details here but those people know who they are and have been extremely irresponsible on the way they have reported on the race.
"It's no longer the riders bringing the sport into disrespect now, it's the individuals, and they know who they are."
A clue as to who might be those in the media that Froome was refering to came from his wife Michele who tweeted: "@JalabertLaurent @cedvasseur @lequipe @festinaboy @scienceofsport I hope you're paying attention. Ignorant, irresponsible fools."
Froome was not blaming all of the 2,000 accreditated press that follow the race and countless other media outlets who report on the race worldwide and said: "It's not all the media, a lot of reporting has been fantastic. It has been about the race as it should be but obviously since my victory a few days ago and the way the team has been, I think there has been a lot very of irresponsible reporting out here. That's unacceptable also.
"I can't speak for everyone in the peloton. I certainly know myself, I am clean, I know what I've done to get here. Of course it's disappointing.
"What can we do? I feel from a rider's point of view, we are doing the right thing. We are trying to speak up in clean cycling, trying to change that image. Unfortunately, due to some of that reporting being so irresponsible, that negative image is still being portrayed to the public."