Vandenbroucke to be laid to rest on Saturday

Cyclist Frank Vanbenbroucke will be laid to rest at a private funeral to be held Saturday in Ploegsteert, Belgium, his family told Belga on Tuesday. The 34-year-old died last week in Saly, Senegal.

The ceremony will be followed by a burial in the family vault in a nearby cemetery.

The rider's parents have requested that the ceremony within the church take place in strict privacy, but a giant screen was erected outside the church so that fans of the rider can view images of the funeral.

The cause of Vandenbroucke's death was a double pulmonary embolism plus an existing heart condition, a Senegalese pathologist declared after a post-mortem analysis. However, the country reportedly does not have the capability to perform toxicology studies, and those would have to be performed in Europe if drugs are to be ruled out as a factor in the Belgian's death.

The rider's body is expected to be repatriated to his native Belgium in the coming days.

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