SNCF wants police action against Paris-Roubaix riders over barrier breach
Last Updated: 21/04/15 4:47pm
The French state railway company (SNCF) has demanded police action against "irresponsible" Paris-Roubaix riders who breached a rail safety barrier seconds before a high-speed train rushed by.
SNCF has made an official complaint to French prosecutors, saying the actions of the riders in Sunday's prestigious race had risked a deadly tragedy.
The last of the riders went through the barrier in northern France about eight seconds before the TGV train arrived at the Waller crossing, 54 miles from the end of the so called "Hell of the North" race.
One rider from the Belgian Lotto team was clipped by a barrier as it came down.
John Degenkolb, the winner of the race famed for its 26 sections of bone-jarring cobbled roads, was among the group who went through the barrier as it closed and race organisers insisted it had not been possible for the leaders to stop in time.
"Several riders deliberately, and against all safety rules, crossed a closed safety barrier," read a SNCF statement.
"Millions of television viewers saw live this extremely grave and irresponsible action which could have been tragic. A few seconds later, a TGV ran on this line and could have hit the peloton."
Riders who go through a closed safety crossing are normally disqualified, but Guy Dobbelaere, president of the jury of race commissioners, defended the action of the cyclists.
"It wasn't possible for the leading riders to stop sufficiently safely," said Dobbelaere. "The peloton was 10 metres away when the barrier started to close."
Race director Thierry Gouvenou said: "By neutralising the race for a few moments to not penalise those who stopped, we respected the spirit of the rule.
"In theory, those who pass when the barrier is down are thrown out of the race.
"This time, that would have been unjust in respect of those riders who weren't identified."
Race officials later slowed the leading riders so that those held up by the barrier could catch up.
