"Disaster was narrowly averted at the Paris-Roubaix one day classic race, after several cyclists rode around the barriers at a level crossing, missing an oncoming train by seconds.

The peloton were separated in the incident, which saw riders bunched behind the barriers waiting for the train to pass. Some cyclists, including French champion Arnaud Démare, chose to risk going around the barriers in an effort to keep up with those that had already crossed."

Video and story link:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/a ... ?CMP=fb_gu

Should anyone be surprised that this happened?
The Tour De France is a huge thing there and these people train their entire lives just to ride in it. And then you're talking about the main bulk of the people who are truly competing in the race for winner spots (as opposed to people trailing well in the back).
Yeah, going around the gates is a bad idea of course, but you gotta consider who you're trying to keep behind the barriers...