UCI commissaire calls for disqualifications after railway-crossing incident: ‘Closed railway crossing means stop’

It made for extraordinary images: the barriers dropped at exactly the moment the peloton arrived. The commissaires stepped in front of the crossing, but they were unable to stop part of the bunch in time. Among those who rode through were Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, while Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel were among the riders left standing on the other side.

Riding through a closed railway crossing is considered a serious offence in cycling. In the past, riders have been disqualified for similar incidents, while a substantial fine and/or a deduction of UCI points are also possible. The central question was whether the riders continued because they no longer had time to react, or whether they made an active decision to cross. An anonymous UCI commissaire was clear in comments reported by Het Nieuwsblad.

“The riders are obliged to stop for the red light,” the jury member said. “Anyone who rides through it must be removed from the race. That decision has to be taken by the president of the commissaires’ panel in consultation with the VAR, who can review the footage. The only possible nuance is whether the red light was already showing at the moment they passed. Where it happens and who goes through is completely irrelevant.”

The breakaway escaped the issue entirely and gained a useful extra advantage, because the first chasing group had to wait for the riders held up behind the crossing. But do Evenepoel, Pogačar and the others now need to fear disqualification? According to Het Nieuwsblad, that does not currently appear to be the case.

Infrabel, the Belgian rail infrastructure manager, reacted with clear frustration. Spokesman Frédéric Petit referred to a recent fatal incident involving a young girl and said the images were especially painful in that context. “When you know what has just happened to that girl, and then one and a half million Belgians see riders ignoring a closed crossing, that lands very badly,” Petit said. “We regret that this happened, especially because clear agreements had been made in advance.”

“For a major cycling race such as the Tour of Flanders, meetings take place well in advance with the police, race organisers and Infrabel. The railway crossings on the route are mapped out and, depending on the course and the timetable, it can be decided in consultation to briefly hold train traffic. In this case, because the race still had a long way to go, that request was not made to us. Then the rule is simple: closed railway crossing means stop.”