Cycling: the star drivers ran a red light and were investigated

Tadej Pogacar (right), Mathieu van der Poel (centre) and Remco Evenepoel took the men’s Tour of Flanders podium. Picture: Elias Rom, ZUMA Press

Local train mixed things up in the men’s cycling Tour of Flanders in Belgium. The main group split into two because some of the cyclists had to stop and give way to the train.

Many competitors managed to cross the train track before the train arrived. Some of them are accused of running a red light, and the Belgian authorities started an investigation into the situation citing the Road Traffic Act, reported Greenwich Time.

According to local media, drivers may be fined and banned from driving if they are found guilty.

BBC:n possible fines range from 320 euros to 4,000 euros. The driving ban, on the other hand, would last eight days.

Before the train, the group that crossed the train track included star drivers, among others Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel.

Slovenian Pogacar explained the situation to the media after the race.

“Suddenly, three people jumped in the middle of the road and told them to stop,” he said.

“How can you stop in one second? They could have prevented this by stopping us earlier and not just ten meters before the train tracks. At first I thought it was a protest or something.”

The episode that cut the main group in half happened more than 200 kilometers before the finish line. After that, before the booms were lowered, those who crossed the track were ordered to slow down, and the group was gathered about four kilometers after the crossing.

Less surprisingly, Pogacar took the victory in the Grand Prix. The Slovenian knocked out the second-placed Dutchman Mathieu van der Poelin on the last climb of the race. Belgian Evenepoel took third place.