Riders show support for Van Impe

The Paris-Nice race's final stage was delayed by 10 minutes as riders protested at a drugs test imposed on Kevin van Impe earlier this week.

Belgian Van Impe had been preparing for his son's funeral when a doctor was instructed to carry out a drugs test.

Van Impe said he had been threatened with sanctions if he did not go ahead with the out-of-competition test.

"It was either do it right on the spot or it would be taken as if I had refused," said the Quick Step rider.

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"Given that riders, who are above all human beings, understand and accept the tests that they have to undergo, they expect, in turn, that their dignity is respected," the Professional Cyclists Association (CPA) said in a statement.

Van Impe's son Jayden died shortly after he was born prematurely.

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