HispanicBusiness

Bradley Wiggins kept the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. Keeping his cool was another matter.

The former Olympic champion, with ambitions to be Britain's first Tour winner, unleashed a profanity-laced tirade after Sunday's eighth stage in which the race entered Switzerland.

Thibaut Pinot, at 22 the youngest competitor, was the day's winner and gave France its first stage victory this year. Wiggins quashed a late attack by defending champion Cadel Evans to hold the lead.

Wiggins' Team Sky has controlled the Tour in a style reminiscent of Lance Armstrong's former U.S. Postal team. The Briton, however, lost his composure when asked by a reporter to comment on comparisons between the teams and "cynics who believe that you have to be doped up to win the Tour."

Wiggins, angered by the chatter on social media, let loose with an expletive-filled outburst.

"I cannot be dealing with people like that. It justifies their own bone-idleness because they can't ever imagine applying themselves to anything in their lives," he said. "And it's easy for them to sit under a pseudonym on Twitter and write that."

Sunday's race was marred by yet another crash, bringing a high- profile withdrawal. Defending Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez pulled out 35 miles into the stage. He broke his right hand and injured his left shoulder, and could miss the London Games.

Twenty riders have dropped out so far from the 99th Tour. Of those, at least 13 gave up the three-week race following a mass pileup during Stage 6.