PARIS (AFP) - The body of a cyclist hit by one of France's high-speed TGV trains was embedded into the front of the driver's carriage and carried 40km before anyone noticed.

Police and the national rail company SNCF were unable to say on Monday whether the 48-year-old man's death was accidental or a suicide.

He was struck by the train on a level crossing in the village of Petit-Croix, near Belfort in eastern France on Sunday, but his body was not discovered until staff and passengers got off at the next stop, in Mulhouse.

"The body was found, stuck to the front right of the train, out of the driver's vision," an SNCF spokesman said, adding that an incident of this kind was "relatively rare." The remains of the victim's bicycle were recovered by police at the level crossing.

France's TGVs travel at speeds of up to 322 kmh in regular service.