Chris Froome has apologised to the spectator he "pushed" during stage eight of the Tour de France, while pleading with supporters to behave on the side of the road.

Saturday was a good day for Froome as he flexed his muscles in the general classification race, the Team Sky leader breaking clear on the final climb up Col de Peyresourde before descending superbly to claim the stage win.

Victory also ensured he will be in yellow on Sunday, Froome having a 16-second advantage over Orica-BikeExchange's Adam Yates.

However, he encountered trouble earlier on the fourth and final ascent when he appeared to hit a spectator who was very close to his bike.

"Apologies to the fan I pushed today," Froome wrote on Twitter. "I was concerned by how close you were, with the danger that comes with having a fall."

And after his win, Froome called on fans lining the route of the Grand Tour to behave and not put the riders' safety in danger.

"Nothing against the Colombian fans, I think they’re fantastic and bring a great atmosphere to the race," he told a post-stage media conference. 

"But this guy in particular was running right next to my handlebars that 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."