Nairo Quintana Hit By Car On Training Ride In Colombia

Colombian Tour de France hopeful Nairo Quintana was knocked down by a car in central Colombia on Friday but said he was feeling "good." "This morning I was hit by a car ...  I had no way of seeing it," said the 30-year-old in a video published on Twitter. The winner of two Grand Tours, who was on a training ride with his brother and teammate Dayer, said he hurt his right knee, left thigh and left elbow. The Colombian Cycling Federation said "Nairo will be seen by his personal doctor in the next few hours to rule out serious injury."

Quintana's French team Arkea-Samsic said "a vehicle arrived behind the group and overtook the car accompanying the riders, then this vehicle squeezed close to the riders making Nairo fall."

The vehicle tried to get away but was chased by Quintana's support car and stopped before police arrived on the scene, Arkea said.

The news, with photos, was originally published on the official Twitter account of the Motavita municipality in central Colombia.

It said "a driver performed an improper manoeuver and hit" Quintana.

The local mayor, Mery Mozo, told Blu Radio that Quintana had complained of "pain in one knee" and "scratches on an elbow."

The municipality posted pictures of Quintana sitting on a plastic chair by the side of the road, talking to the mayor and police.

There were no visible injuries to Quintana, who was wearing a scarf over his face in one picture, but he was wearing a brace on his left knee.

Quintana -- the winner of the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and Vuelta a Espana two years later -- was taken to his home in Boyaca, where he received medical attention.

"Thanks to everyone for your messages of encouragement and support. I feel good," Quintana wrote on Twitter.

The diminutive climber is training in the mountains in his homeland ahead of the August restart to the cycling calendar.

Quintana was in fine form for his new team before the season was suspended in March, winning two minor French stage races and the final stage of the prestigious Paris-Nice.

He has finished on the podium three times at the Tour de France but compatriot Egan Bernal last year became the first South American to win the Grand Boucle, cycling's most prestigious race.