Stage 10 extras
Froome wins Bastille Day battle of La Pierre-Saint-Martin
And with that, the spectre of doping in professional cycling was back.
Froome blew his nearest rivals away with blistering pace up the final climb of the stage, retaining the yellow jersey with an overall race lead of 2min 52sec from second placed Tejay van Garderen of BMC.
But like it or not, the Sky rider was never going to escape to the haven of Sky's team bus displays without having to answer a few curly queries on the validity of his performance.
As for any due credit he feels he deserves – you can pretty much forget that.
“What haven't I done? I've tried to be as much as a spokesman as I can for clean cycling," Froome said after his latest stage victory.
"I've spoken to the CIRC (Cycling Independent Reform Condition); I've made suggestions to the governing body to implement things like night-time testing; I've pointed out when I've felt there hasn't been enough testing, in places like Tenerife.
"What else is a clean rider supposed to do?"
Froome, who has always been known as an explosive climber, faced a similar line of questioning in 2013 when he shot up Mount Ventoux to effectively seal his overall victory in that edition of the race.
In 2015, those questions are back, but the Briton, who, it is important to add, has never been found guilty of any doping offence, is remaining calm.
"It doesn't make me angry," he said. "It would be a different story if I had something to hide. I know I'm a clean rider. I know I've worked extremely hard to be in this position. I'm really proud of that.
"I do understand where the questions are coming from, the history of the sport and the people before me who have won the Tour.
"I am sympathetic, but at the same time there needs to be a certain level of respect also.”
One of those former riders, Lance Armstrong, found himself commenting on the situation on Twitter.
The man stripped of seven Tour de France titles for his now infamous involvement in systematic doping refused to pass judgement on Froome or any other rider.
Others appeared to remain more sceptical.
So is the race now effectively over? Let’s go back to Lance for that one.
Froome's Australia Sky team-mate Richie Porte agrees. This race is far from over.
So what do you think? Vote here:
