Pogačar, Evenepoel Fined, But Avoid Disqualification in Railroad Crossing Incident at Flanders

Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel avoided possible disqualification Sunday in the men’s Tour of Flanders after a railway crossing incident split the peloton early in the race.

It happened at about 200km to go when defending champion Pogačar and several UAE Emirates-XRG teammates, Evenepoel, and dozens of others were caught at the front coming into a railroad crossing.

The peloton was split into two with red lights flashing and the safety bars coming down as the race route intersected with the rail line.

Other favorites, such as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, were forced to stop behind the closed crossing. A regional train passed through, and the race quickly resumed.

Race officials ordered the front group to slow down and allow the chasing riders to regain contact.

A breakaway up the road by more than three minutes, including American Luke Lamperti, was not impacted, and its advantage was held under race protocol.

That would have been the end of it, but race rules say that riders must stop if the lights are flashing red and safety bars are down at a railway crossing. Riders can face disqualification for blatant violations.

There were no clear TV images of the front of the incident, and it was not immediately apparent what happened when.

Pogačar and others were allowed to keep racing, in part because the incident came so early in the race and did not shape the outcome of the competition.

UAE riders later told Danish TV that the front of the peloton was entering the level crossing when the red warning lights started to flash, and insisted the leaders could not have safely stopped.

There was some concern early on, because riders have been disqualified after finishing a race in the past.

In the 2006 Paris-Roubaix, Peter Van Petegem and Leif Hoste were disqualified after ignoring railway signals.

UPDATED: No fines

The post-race jury report did not mention the railroad crossing incident, but there were some fines.

Pogačar was hit with a 500 Swiss franc fine and docked 25 UCI points, but not for the crossing, rather because he tossed a bottle outside a designated waste zone.

Evenepoel was also fined 200 Swiss francs for a “sticky bottle” after being towed by a team car. Team DS Sven Vanthourenhout saw a bigger 500 Swiss franc fine.

The UCI made no mention of the controversial railway crossing moment.

According to HNB, officials suggested that sudden braking at the crossing could have triggered a more dangerous situation.

However, local prosecutors in East Flanders have opened proceedings and intend to pursue riders who ignored the red warning signs, HNB reported late Sunday.