Chris Froome, long accustomed to a chilly response from French roadside fans, was caught in retaliation on Monday's Route d'Occitanie stage 3.

Froome was riding with Groupama-FDJ's Bruno Almirail on the final Col de Beyrade climb when spectators began booing him.

In a video widely shared on social media, Froome can be seen looking back at the crowd and raising his arms in admonition. He appears to be shouting "va chier, connard. When Froome issues a rebuttal to the booing, he responds "yes" and seems to agree with the Ineos players.

Froome has won the Tour de France four times, but has yet to fully win the hearts of the French public. He was booed heavily at the 2018 Tour team presentation shortly after his Salbutamol case was resolved, and in 2015, Team Ineos (then Team Sky) claimed that urine was thrown at a rider during one of the mountain stages.

Froom has largely been diplomatic when asked how he feels about such incidents, preferring to emphasize the support he has received, but the video was evidence of his frustration.

On Monday's stage, Froome played the role of Team Ineos on the climb to the finish, going deep and sacrificing his own results to help teammate Egan Bernal, who is also a candidate to lead this year's Tour de France. After a long effort at the front of Team Ineos, Froom relaxed and finished more than five minutes behind.

The 35-year-old Froome brushed off questions about his form and recovery from a devastating crash at last year's Criterium du Dauphiné, saying he had set up Bernal and second-placed Pavel Sivakov.

He emphasized the teamwork that led to Ineos' one-two, even as the announcement of Froome's move to the Israeli start-up state in 2021 raised questions about the team's harmony.

"I was impressed with the whole team. Everyone was great. Everyone rode according to plan today and I'm very happy with the team," Froome said after the stage.

"I did everything I could to set up Egan in the last few kilometers. The team rode great from the start today. It's great."

"It's a special day to take first and second place. Egan and Pavel are in great shape right now. It was a real blessing to be able to help them.

La Route d'Occitanie concludes on Tuesday with an undulating stage to Rocamadour.