Tour stage 19 briefly interrupted by protesters

CAHORS, France : The 19th stage of the Tour de France was interrupted for five minutes because of a protest on the road, organisers said on Friday.

"The riders have been asked to slow down and stop because of a protest on the road. They'll resume racing with the same time gap (between the peloton and the breakaway riders): 1:20," the Tour organisers said in a statement.

They did not give any further details.

The protest happened near Auch, some 39 kilometres into the 188.3-km ride between Castelnau-Magnoac and Cahors.