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

The 2026 Tour of Flanders men’s race experienced a brief neutralisation early on when more than half of the peloton was halted at a level crossing. Approximately 30 riders, including favourites Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, were able to continue ahead with a breakaway group of 13 riders before the barriers came down. The remainder of the peloton was forced to stop as a passenger train passed, leading race officials to instruct the front group to slow down to allow the race to regroup once the crossing reopened. This incident caused the gap between the breakaway and the peloton to widen significantly, increasing from around three and a half minutes to over five minutes. The peloton, led by teams such as UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike, then intensified their chase to reduce the deficit. By the time there were 180 kilometres remaining, the gap had been trimmed back to five minutes and was continuing to fall, highlighting the impact of the delay on race dynamics. Level crossings disrupting races are generally regarded as unavoidable race incidents, with riders required to stop when barriers are down to avoid disqualification. The 2026 event echoes a similar situation in the 2015 Paris-Roubaix, where the main peloton was delayed at a railway crossing shortly after the Arenberg Forest. In that case, no sanctions were applied due to the difficulty in determining which riders had crossed after the barriers lowered, a precedent reflected in the current UCI regulations. These regulations now maintain that any advantage gained by a breakaway during such incidents is preserved, as was the case in this edition of the Tour of Flanders. The presence of a sizeable front group in 2026 reduced the likelihood of penalties for riders caught behind the barriers. Ultimately, the level crossing incident had a notable tactical effect, forcing the peloton to chase harder and temporarily altering the race’s rhythm early on.