A female bicyclist was killed Tuesday afternoon when she was struck by a vehicle on a Cape Breton highway.

RCMP responded to the crash on Highway 125 near North Sydney before 2:30 p.m.

Police say the bicycle and the vehicle were both headed westbound towards North Sydney when the collision occurred between Exits 1 and 2.

The westbound lane of the highway between Exits 1 and 2 was closed to traffic for several hours as police investigated the crash, the cause of which remains under investigation.

Police say the victim was a 53-year-old woman from Florence, N.S.