Fans told to go easy on Froome

MOUILLERON-LE-CAPTIF, France — Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme urges fans to “keep both feet on the ground” when four-time champion Chris Froome rides by.

Freshly cleared of doping, the Team Sky rider was booed by the crowd at the Tour teams presentation on Thursday.

The race starts on Saturday in the Vendee region.

Prudhomme says, “We need to tell the people whistling that it is stupid and that it is useless. … I’m calling for serenity. I want to see people encouraging their champion with both feet on the road, keeping quiet when (riders) they don’t like ride past them.”

A cloud hung over Froome after a urine sample taken during the Spanish Vuelta in September showed a concentration of the asthma drug salbutamol that was twice the permitted level.

The Tour informed Froome he wasn’t welcome until the UCI announced on Monday that Froome’s result did not represent an adverse finding on advice from the World Anti-Doping Agency.