'I basically just passed out for 27 hours': Missing endurance cyclist sends video to say he's alive

Having been off the radar for nearly two days, endurance cyclist Lee Fancourt reassured friends and family that he was alive in a video message.

The 39-year-old, who cycled through seven European countries in 24 hours in August 2015, told viewers that he was feeling constantly sick and dehydrated in a video update before disappearing.

Supporters asked race organisers to mount a search, but 36 hours after his tracker device stopped it appeared back on screen again and Fancourt later uploaded a video update.

"Hello everyone, I'm still alive, just about. The last thing I remember was two days ago," he said on the Facebook video.

"I couldn't keep any water down. I kept being sick. The next thing I can remember was I woke up by the side of the road. There's a bit of damage to my bike and I've got a massive black bruise on my hip so I must have fallen off the bike.

"I can't remember falling off. I don't know how long I was there for. I managed to get under a tree to shelter. Then I basically just passed out for 27 hours."

Fancourt is taking part in the Trans-Am Bike Race, travelling 4400 miles from Oregon to Virginia on opposite sides of the country.