Chris Froome vowed to always honour the Tour de France yellow jersey after clinching his second title in Paris.

The 30-year-old Team Sky leader made a veiled reference to the critics of his performance over a turbulent three weeks which saw Froome called a 'doper', doused in urine and spat at.

The climate of suspicion is a legacy of the drug-assisted era of cycling, but Froome insists he is clean after finishing one minute 12 seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana (Movistar).

"The maillot jaune is special, very special," Froome said in his victory speech by the Champs-Elysees.

"I understand its history, good and bad, and I will always respect it, never dishonour it and I'll always be proud to have won it."

Froome's first Tour title came in the 100th edition in 2013, and the first since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his record seven titles.

Then he was subject to scrutiny, and the innuendo and interrogations resumed as he reclaimed the title after crashing out of the 2014 race with a fractured hand and broken wrist.

Asked what honouring the yellow jersey meant to him, Froome said: "It's pretty straightforward: In this day and age I feel someone needs to speak up for the cyclists of 2015 and of course I'm happy to do that. I'm in this position now. Someone's got to take a stand, it's time."

Froome finished 136th on the stage, arm in arm with his Team Sky colleagues, as Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) recorded a fourth win of the race. Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) was sixth.

Controversy has dogged the 102nd Tour and a protester managed to trespass on to the finishing circuit, 2.4 kilometres from the finish, in what appeared to be a bed sheet with a message.

After the British squad's third Tour title in four years, Froome thanked his eight team-mates by name, the Team Sky support staff, team principal Sir Dave Brailsford and his coach, Tim Kerrison, as well as his wife Michelle - who is pregnant with the couple's first child.

One team-mate stood out for his consummate support - Geraint Thomas, who rode alongside Froome through crosswinds, across the cobbles and up mountains.

The 29-year-old from Cardiff was fourth until Friday's 19th stage to La Toussuire, where his efforts took their toll, but he hopes to lead Team Sky in a Grand Tour in future.

Thomas, who finished 15th, said: "It's certainly given me a lot of confidence and encouragement for the future, and I'm really looking forward to it."

MOTOR-SPORT: World champion Lewis Hamilton made a string of errors at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but still stretched his lead over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to 21 points.

"Today was one of the worst performances I've put in for a long, long time. I was all over the place," the Briton said after starting on pole, collecting a drive through penalty, dropping to 15th and then finishing sixth.

"I definitely had a very bad day in the office," added the double champion, who has won five of 10 races so far this season.

The race was won by an emotional Sebastian Vettel, who paid tribute to Jules Bianchi by dedicating his triumph to the fallen star.

The four-time champion, whose win means he is now level on 41 victories with Ayrton Senna, finished ahead of the Red Bull duo of Daniil Kyvat and Daniel Ricciardo

Vettel said: "This one is for Jules and especially all the people in Ferrari, and we knew that sooner or later he would have been part of our team, part of this family."