Mike Hall, 35, a world-renowned British cyclist, died on March 31, 2017, after a fatal collision with a car south of Canberra, at the intersection of the Monaro Highway and Williamsdale Road.

He was competing in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, an unsupported, solo ride covering nearly 5500 kilometres from Fremantle to Sydney, that crosses the Nullarbor Plain then passes through Adelaide and Melbourne.

Mr Hall was one of 70 riders who set off from Fremantle on March 18.

He had arrived in Cooma just before 8pm the day before the accident, and set out again for Canberra around 3am the next morning.

At around 6.20am, a car driven by Shegu Bobb, a 19-year-old migrant from Sierra Leone who was on his P plates, struck Mr Hall from behind.

At the time of the collision, Mr Hall was riding on an unusually narrow verge along the road.

He died at the scene of multiple injuries.

No charges have been laid against the driver.

Mr Hall's mother, Patricia Hall, had travelled from the UK to attend the inquest, as had his partner Anna Haslock.

The court heard that while Mr Hall’s bicycle lights were working, he had been wearing dark clothing and a dark-coloured helmet, and at the time of the collision he would have been indistinguishable from the guideposts along the side of the road.

Mr Bobb had dipped his lights onto low-beam as he passed the intersection to Williamsdale, in anticipation of other cars waiting to turn from the intersection.

He was driving within the 100km/h speed limit, but his attention was momentarily distracted by a truck parked in an unusual spot on the side of the road.

He was unable to stop in time when he saw Mr Hall on the verge in the seconds before the car collided with the cyclist.

The court also heard that a number of drivers, heading both ways along the highway, had reported seeing Mr Hall riding on the verge, and said that he had been “difficult to see” in the darkness.

Counsel assisting the coroner Ken Archer said Mr Hall had been an experienced triathlete, undertaking a “long and gruelling race” that relied on skill and stamina, and said it had been likened it to a "Hunger Games on wheels".

Although it wasn’t known whether fatigue on the part of Mr Hall had been a factor in the accident, Mr Archer said there was no reason to assume that he had not had enough sleep before setting off to Canberra from Cooma.

He said that particular stretch of the Monaro Highway was known to be dangerous, and that it was unusual for there to be cyclists on the road.

But although there had been publicity surrounding the event, no provisions had been made to alert vehicles along the highway that would likely be cyclists around the time of the race.

The inquest continues.