Tour of Flanders Briefly Neutralised After Level Crossing Splits Peloton In Two
The 2026 Tour of Flanders delivered an early slice of drama long before the Oude Kwaremont came into view, as a passing passenger train split the peloton in two at a level crossing in the opening kilometres of Easter Sunday's Monument. Race officials were forced to briefly neutralise the front of the race to allow the larger group behind to regroup, in a chaotic sequence that echoed memories of infamous incidents at previous cobbled classics.
Around thirty riders had already crossed the tracks and were committed to the chase behind an early breakaway when the red lights began flashing and the barriers came down. Among those caught on the front side of the crossing were Tadej Pogacar, the eventual race winner, and Remco Evenepoel, who was making his eagerly anticipated Tour of Flanders debut. The rest of the peloton — the majority of the field, including several team leaders and their domestiques — had to wait as the train passed through.
Once the barriers lifted, commissaires travelling alongside the race in motorbikes and in the race director's car ordered the front group to ease off. Over roughly four kilometres of controlled riding, the delayed bunch chased back on and the peloton was reunited, with the early breakaway's advantage over the front group preserved under UCI regulations that were tightened after the chaotic 2015 Paris-Roubaix.
It was a reminder of the unique hazards of racing through the dense road network of East Flanders, where level crossings are unavoidable and the peloton's speed on narrow approach roads leaves little margin for error. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders in the front section kept their cool and avoided any panicked moves, aware that aggressive attacking during a regrouping phase would be penalised by the jury.
For Evenepoel, the incident was a disorienting welcome to the chaos of a cobbled Monument. The former world champion was still learning the rhythms of Flanders and found himself suddenly positioned in an elite front pack while his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates were stuck on the wrong side of the tracks. Evenepoel later acknowledged that the neutralisation allowed his team to reorganise before the race's critical phase on the Molenberg.
Pogacar, speaking after lifting the Lion Trophy in Oudenaarde, laughed off the scare. "It is always a bit stressful when you see the red lights," the Slovenian said. "But the commissaires handled it well, and in the end it did not affect the race. The final kilometres were decided on the Kwaremont, as they should be."
The incident will nevertheless reignite debate about rider safety and course design in the densely populated Flemish countryside, where a growing number of races have been impacted in recent years by railway crossings, roundabouts and street furniture. With Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and Wout van Aert all in the delayed group, a longer stoppage could easily have reshaped one of cycling's most important days.
As it was, the race found its natural order once the cobbles began to bite, and Pogacar's crushing Kwaremont attack settled matters. But the Flanders organisers will face renewed questions this week about whether more can be done to prevent trains and peloton from colliding on the route of the Ronde.