Cycling-'Times have changed' says Froome in face of doping questions

(Adds Brailsford quotes) By Julien Pretot VALENCE, France, July 19 (Reuters) - Top cycling performances should not systematically trigger doping suspicions, Tour de France overall leader Chris Froome said on Sunday. The Team Sky rider, whose impressive ride up La Pierre St Martin in the first mountain stage raised suspicions like his 2013 ride up the gruelling Mont Ventoux, had urine thrown at him by a spectator during Saturday's 14th stage. There were no incidents on Sunday, however, with Froome even speaking of a "fantastic atmosphere" on the road of the 183-km ride from Mende to Valence. At his post-stage news conference, Froome was quizzed on the incident again and doping-related questions were asked. A reporter said: "Chris, you have been saying that you're the first, you're in the yellow jersey because you've worked extremely hard for that... We know this but what is troublesome is that all those who preceded you were saying the same... Lance Armstrong would keep telling us that he was the first because he was working more than the others. Can you understand that the wording and the explanation that you give revive bad memories?" Froome replied: "Times have changed, everyone knows that, times have changed, this isn't the wild West that it was 10-15 years ago. "Of course there are always going to be riders who take risks in this day and age but they are the minority. It was all the other way around 10-15 years ago, there is no reason for that suspicion to continue." Armstrong won seven Tour titles between 1999-2005 but the disgraced American was stripped of them after admitting to doping following years of denials. Asked if the suspicious atmosphere surrounding him and his team would sour a likely victory in Paris two years after his maiden title, Froome said he would fully appreciate the triumph. "It is not going to sour the yellow jersey if I make it to Paris in the yellow jersey this is something that myself and my team have worked extremely hard for," he said. The 30-year-old said that most of the comments questioning his performances were coming from "ex-riders who were part of this generation and only knew one way of cycling." Grilled on Froome's performance at La Pierre St Martin on a French TV programme, with an expert saying the British rider's estimated power has only been achieved by doped riders, Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford re-iterated his call for a 'power passport'. "First off, it's only an estimate," he said. "I ask the International Cycling Union (UCI) to do with the power profile what they've done with the biological passport." Brailsford is suggesting all the riders' power data should be analysed by experts in order to detect possible suspicious variations, echoing French coach Frederic Grappe's call on Tuesday. (Editing by Mitch Phillips)