Stalled motorbike causes massive cyclist pile-up

A stalled motorbike leading a bike race in New York has caused a dramatic pile-up of more than a dozen cyclists.

Video shows the spluttering motorbike stuck in the middle of the road as the rider frantically tries to restart it at the beginning of the Red Hook Criterium, an annual 5km race, on Saturday evening.

The first competitors manage to steer around the motorbike but as two of the cyclists crash it leaves no room for the riders behind to move around them.

More and more men crash into the pile-up with some seen flipping over their bikes and landing on top of their rivals.

When the carnage is over a groaning tangled mess of men and metal is all that is left, with the motorbike rider still standing.

At least seven riders were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, The Gothamist reports.

"I went to the other side of the course when the crash happened, but saw lots of bloody people walking around," a witness told the news website.

The race was reportedly restarted, but with an hour’s delay due to the crash.