PORRENTRUY, Switzerland — Bradley Wiggins kept the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. Keeping his cool was another matter.

The former Olympic champion, with ambitions to be Britain's first Tour winner, unleashed a profanity-laced tirade after Sunday's eighth stage.

Thibaut Pinot, at 22 the youngest competitor, gave France its first stage victory this year. Wiggins quashed a late attack by defending champion Cadel Evans to hold the overall lead.

Wiggins' Team Sky has controlled the Tour in a style reminiscent of Lance Armstrong's former U.S. Postal team. The Briton, however, lost his composure when asked by a reporter to comment on comparisons between the teams and "cynics who believe that you have to be doped up to win the Tour."

Wiggins, angered by the chatter on social media, let loose with an expletive-filled outburst.

"I cannot be dealing with people like that. It justifies their own bone-idleness because they can't ever imagine applying themselves to anything in their lives," he said. "And it's easy for them to sit under a pseudonym on Twitter and write that."

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency last month filed charges against Armstrong, accusing the seven-time Tour champion of using performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong denies wrongdoing.

The Tour this year is without two-time champion Alberto Contador while he serves a doping ban linked to the race in 2010.

Speaking to French television, Wiggins said his ability to get up hard mountain climbs came from training, diet and lifestyle.

He has shown during the last two days he's able to keep up with strong climbers like Australia's Evans.

Sunday, Evans was runner-up behind Pinot, 26 seconds back. But he didn't gain any time on Wiggins, who was fourth in a small group that included most of the remaining pre-race favorites. Wiggins leads Evans by 10 seconds overall.

Notes

• Stage 8 was marred by yet another crash, resulting in the withdrawal of defending Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez. He dropped out with a broken hand just 35 miles into the stage. Twenty riders have dropped out so far.

• Wenatchee sprint specialist Tyler Farrar was 165th in the stage, 23:31 back.