A group of cyclists ploughed into a dead kangaroo before being hit by an oncoming four-wheel-drive in northern Victoria early on Monday.

Nine cyclists from the Shepparton Cycling Club were riding on Mitchell Road, not far from the Goulburn Valley Highway, at Kialla near Shepparton, about 6.40am.

Shepparton police Sergeant Steve Murray said the leader of the pack managed to avoid a dead kangaroo on the side of the road, but several others behind him did not.

"The others have hit the roo and gone down and there's been a bit of a concertina effect," Sergeant Murray said.