Obree and Boardman were rivals in the 1990s

"The children know the situation. Their father has an illness, but is getting better and we are all just trying to come to terms with it."

Obree rose to prominence in 1993 when he when he won at the world track championships in Norway on a bike with a bearing salvaged from a washing machine.

In the same year, he broke the one-hour world record by covering 32.95 miles.

Obree's use of innovative bikes through the early 1990s drove the International Cycling Union (UCI) to rewrite their technical rules.

The Scot retired in 1997 and was consequently diagnosed with manic depression.

In 2000, he attempted a comeback in a bid to reclaim his one-hour record from long-time rival Chris Boardman.

Medication change

However, the record attempt never materialised as Obree first suffered a viral infection and then was involved in a cycling accident which left him with a shattered kneecap and a broken breastbone.

Mystery still surrounds why Obree made the journey from his home in Irvine to the remote farm.

"There had been a change in his medication recently," his wife said.

"The illness may have kicked in before his medication did. He can't remember the incident."

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident.