2026 Tour of Flanders Men briefly neutralised after over half peloton stopped at level crossing

The 2026 Tour of Flanders men's race was briefly neutralised when half the peloton were stopped at a level crossing in the opening part of the race and delayed by a few minutes.

Around 30 riders were able to continue immediately, amongst them Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in pursuit of a dozen-strong break when the level crossing barriers came down.

Those caught behind were forced to wait as a passenger train passed through. Meanwhile race officials on motorbikes and in the director's car ordered the front part of the peloton, headed by a visibly baffled series of UAE riders, to slow down to allow for a regrouping.

The main bunch then came together again after about four kilometres of chasing once the barriers had lifted again and the race got going once again.

Long-term, the main effect of the level crossing incident was for the gap for the 13-rider break of the day initially to stretch out from roughly 3:30 to 5:30.

Level crossings blocking or delaying riders during races are usually viewed as 'race incidents', with riders obliged to wait once the barriers have come down or risk expulsion from the race.

One of the most famous such incidents in the cobbled Classics occurred in the 2015 edition of Paris-Roubaix, when the main peloton reached a level-crossing shortly after exiting the Arenberg Forest. While the early break was unaffected, the lights had turned red by the time the main peloton approached, though the front end of the bunch made it through before the barriers had lowered.

A similar incident happened in 2006, leading to the disqualification of three riders. But in 2015 the commissaires at Paris-Roubaix later confirmed that no action would be taken against those who passed through a railway crossing after the barriers had begun to lower, due to the impossibility of identifying in full which riders had been involved.

As for the 2026 Tour of Flanders, the sheer numbers in the front group have, like in Roubaix 2015, apparently reduced the risk of subsequent expulsion. Rather, its main consequence short-term was to see the 13-rider break gain nearly 50% more time on the bunch, with the peloton forced to up the speed of their chase considerably as a result. By 180 kilometres to go, the gap was reduced to five minutes and dropping as UAE and Visma-Lease a Bike gave chase.

UCI regulations, revised after 2015 Paris-Roubaix, now state that if a break is ahead when the bunch is caught at a level crossing, the advantage gained is maintained - as happened in Flanders this year.

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