Brooklyn 30k Bike Race Crazy Crash when Pace Motorcycles Stalled

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 05-02-2016, 05:02 PM

The men’s final of the Red Hook Criterium 30k bike race in Brooklyn had to restart shortly after it began Saturday night due to a scary pile-up involving multiple cyclists.

The crash occurred just seconds after the start when one of the lead pace motorcycles stalled right in the middle of the course.

"I'd say it was no longer than 10 seconds into the race, the motorist who was setting the pace for the riders had a stalled engine. Everyone around me was confused as to why he was sitting still in the middle of the course, and then the pile-up happened in split seconds," Sean Slavin, a Carroll Gardens resident who was at the event to cheer on a friend, told the Daily News.

Luckily, only seven riders had to be removed from the course, all with non-life threatening injuries, and transported to a nearby hospital, according to a report.

"There was quite a panic around us since the barriers were tossed out of place, and bicycle wheels and parts were flying over spectators' heads," Slavin said. "Most of the riders were able to get up but there were a few that were bleeding."

He added that the race was delayed for about an hour.

The crash was even more severe because it happened around one of the first turns where riders pick up speed.

The pace car-caused accident wasn’t the only to one to occur at the Red Hook Crit.

Earlier, on the last lap of the women’s race, another handful of cyclists crashed around a sharp turn. (Second video)

USA Cycling, which sanctioned bike races in America and helps riders with medical coverage insurance costs, has never approved the Red Hook Crit 30, which always takes place at night and began in 2008.