Mont Ventoux, France ? As he closes in on a fourth straight Tour de France title, Lance Armstrong is hearing a familiar but unwelcome chant from fans lining the route.

On Sunday, after a strong performance in the mountains extended his overall lead to almost 41â2 minutes, Armstrong had heard enough.

“If I had a dollar for every time somebody yelled, ‘Doe-PAY! Doe-PAY!’ (French for ‘Doped! Doped!’), I’d be a rich man,” he said. “It’s disappointing.”

Thanks to a stunning sprint up the formidable Mont Ventoux on Sunday, Armstrong stretched his lead over Joseba Beloki in the standings to 4 minutes, 21 seconds.

The run wasn’t enough for the Texan to take the stage, though. Armstrong finished third, 2:20 behind winner Richard Virenque of France, who led for the last 125 miles of the 137-mile 14th leg.

Thousands of fans turned out for the stage, but not all were on Armstrong’s side.

“The people are not very sportsmanslike, some of them,” the U.S. Postal Service rider said. “A boo is a lot louder than a cheer. If you have 10 people cheering and one person booing, all you hear is the boo.”

Many fans waved the U.S. flag and banners with Armstrong’s name Sunday. But they were outnumbered by those supporting the French, Belgian, Italian and German riders, among others.

Armstrong, by the way, has never has failed a drug test.

There are six stages remaining in the three-week event.