Disgraced global sports icon Lance Armstrong took to Twitter on Tuesday to question whether the leader of the Tour de France, Chris Froome, his teammate Richie Porte, and their team, Sky, are "too strong to be clean."
Here's Armstrong's tweet:
Earlier on Tuesday, Froome, Porte, and Sky destroyed Froome's Tour rivals on the first summit finish of the race.
As a select group of favorites climbed to the finish at La Pierre-Saint-Martin, Froome attacked on the steep gradient and no one could keep pace.
This was the moment Froome attacked and dropped his chief rival, Nairo Quintana (in the white jersey):
- Bébé viens me voir !- Je peux pas je fais le tour de France...- Mais je suis seule à la maison..- OK !! :pic.twitter.com/3DrFV1Pihu
— Le Duc (@NonoGodignon) July 14, 2015With his dominating performance Froome extended his lead and put his stamp on the world's premier bicycle race as the strongest man and clear favorite to win in Paris on July 26, even though there are several tough mountain stages still to go.
One Twitter user replied to Armstrong's tweet:
@lancearmstrong you destroyed the reputation of this great race and now you try to harm it further by accusing others? Please stop
— Daniel Castille (@danieljcastille) July 14, 2015To which Armstrong shot back:
. @danieljcastille I'm not accusing anyone In fact, quite the opposite. I'm not interested (nor do I have the credibility) to opine there.
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) July 14, 2015"I am not a student of Lance Armstrong or that period in cycling. He doesn’t interest me and that era doesn’t interest me."
And this:
"You think I’m guilty. Can you prove it? No. I know I’m clean. Can I prove it? No. You heard it all before from Lance Armstrong. Well, I’m not Lance Armstrong. You won’t get fooled again. Not by me you won’t, ever."
After Tuesday's stage, Froome tweeted:
Amazing job by the team today, set it up perfectly, 2nd for @richie_porte, 6th for @GeraintThomas86 (& 5th on GC) #Proud@TeamSky
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 14, 2015Also on Tuesday, the BBC reported that, according to Sky, Froome's computer files with his performance data had been hacked.
"Team Sky believe their computers have been hacked by critics convinced Tour de France leader Chris Froome is using performance-enhancing drugs," the BBC said.
"Froome has been subjected to sustained scrutiny since his Tour win in 2013, with some sceptics using power data to justify their case against him.
"The 30-year-old Briton has always insisted he is a clean rider."
Before the US Anti-Doping Agency found that his team ran "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," Armstrong won the Tour seven times, and he did so consecutively from 1999 to 2005. His victories were aided by a variety of performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong is facing a $100 million lawsuit from a former teammate, Floyd Landis, which could bring him financial ruin.
Related to that lawsuit, USA Today reported Tuesday that the "federal government has received the green light to ask additional questions about Lance Armstrong's sex life" and "to confirm or clarify the nature of his personal relationship with former business associate Stephanie McIlvain, a key witness in the Armstrong doping scandal."
Armstrong is returning to the Tour this week to ride his bike for charity.
SEE ALSO: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The Lance Armstrong team that dominated the Tour de France
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