The French state railway company on Monday demanded police action against 'irresponsible ' Paris-Roubaix cycle race riders who breached a safety barrier seconds before a high speed train hurtled by . The SNCF company made an official complaint to French prosecutors saying the action 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 , 87 kilometers ( 54 miles ) from the end of the so called 'Hell of the North ' race . SNCF have spoken of their fury at the riders who breached a safety barrier as a train approached . SNCF slammed the riders for an 'extremely grave an irresponsible action ' One rider was even clipped by the barrier as it came down , as the racers hurry through with the train near . Another cyclist made his way over the track after police tried to stop anymore competitors getting across . A number of riders wait safely for the train to pass through while others risked crossing . The train hurtled through at high speed shortly after a group of riders went through the barrier . One rider from the Belgian Lotto team was clipped by a barrier as it came down . John Degenkolb , 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 . Race organisers said 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 , ' said a SNCF statement announcing the complaint to French prosecutors . 'Millions of television viewers saw live this extremely grave and irresponsible action which could have been tragic , ' the company added . ' A few seconds later , a TGV ran on this line and could have hit the peloton . ' When the last rider had gone through the crossing , a police motorcycle was in place to stop more riders going through . The riders are held at a level crossing in the Paris-Roubaix race as a train approaches . A number of cyclists breached the barrier to cross the track before the train sped through . The last cyclist appeared to cross the track around eight seconds before the train went through . Normally riders who go through a closed safety crossing are disqualified . But Guy Dobbelaere , president of the jury of race commissioners , defended the action of the riders on Sunday . 'It was n'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 added : '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 were n't identified , ' said Gouvenou . German John Degenkolb won the race and was one of the riders who went through the closed barrier . Degenkolb celebrates his win alongside Zdenek Stybar ( left ) and Greg van Avermaet ( right ) Race officials slowed the leading riders so that those held up by the barrier could catch up . In 2006 , three riders were disqualified for going through a closed railway crossing . The three - Leif Hoste and Peter van Petegem of Belgium and Russian Vladimir Guseve - were less than 10 kilometers ( six miles ) from the finish and had been disputing top places .
Railway company condemns the cyclists 'grave and irresponsible action ' They have made an official complaint to French prosecutors . Leif Hoste , the race winner , crossed the barrier as it closed .