VIDEO: Nasty pile-up at NYC's Red Hook Crit

The Red Hook Crit in New York is known for being a seriously intense high speed bike race. Ridden on fixed gear bikes, it's famous for its crashes and this year was no exception with a motorcycle involved.

Video footage shows the moment the competitors in Brooklyn, New York City, were involved in a mass pile up thanks to a motorcyclist who was leading out the race stalling.

The tightly bunched group were just setting out and had limited visibility, according to onlookers. And with riders on fixed gear bikes, emergency braking wasn't an option, adding to the chaos.

A few cyclists managed to get round the motorcyclist, but unluckier riders ploughed into one another, with a few non-serious hospitalisations.

Back in 2013 a video shows a cyclist in a  red and yellow jersey overturn over another rider, springing his bike into the crowd in the process.

Meanwhile a spectator is hit by another rider who falls over the wall.

In that race, 15-year-old Joshua Hartman fractured his nose, eye sockets and jaw while competing in Brooklyn.

His medical costs of $100,000 were reportedly not met by the race organisers, who contributed $1,200 - saying that he had signed a waiver acknowledging the risks.

"Really, all bike racing is dangerous and pretty much any sport we are going fast is dangerous. I don't think the Red Crit is more dangerous than even an amateur race in Central Park," one participant told CBS.

"It is seen as being more risky in general by most racers," Kacey Manderfield Lloyd, winner of the women’s race, said.

"It's hardcore! It's bad ass! It's all of those things, you know. And people like to be a part of that, right? They like to, 'Oh yeah, I did that.”

Now in its ninth edition in New York, the Red Hook Crit series has now expanded internationally, with rounds in Barcelona, London and Milan.