Chris Froome has defended his actions after being reprimanded for lashing out at a spectator during stage eight of the Tour de France.
The Team Sky rider was caught on camera striking a fan in a Colombian football shirt on one of the day's four climbs and was later fined 200 Swiss francs (£157) by race organisers.
Froome's main rival at the Tour is Colombian rider Nairo Quintana.
He said: "Nothing against the Colombian fans; I think they're fantastic and bring a great atmosphere to the race.
"But this guy in particular was running right next to my handlebars [and] had a flag that was flying behind him. It was just getting dangerous, so I pushed him away. I lashed out and pushed him away.
"It's fantastic having so many fans out on the route, but please, please, I urge the fans: don't try and run with the riders. It gets really dangerous for the guys behind."
Froome's relationship with Tour spectators is a fragile one, after the Briton was verbally and physically abused by fans during last year's race.
Froome won stage eight to take the overall lead.
The Tour continues on Sunday with a 184km ninth stage starting in Vielha Val d'Aran and ending with a summit finish at Andorre Arcalis. Find out more about the route in our race guide and follow the stage with our live blog from 12pm BST.