BOGOTA (AFP) - Colombian Tour de France hopeful Nairo Quintana was knocked down by a car in central Colombia, a local town hall said on its Twitter account on Friday (July 3).

The 30-year-old winner of two Grand Tours complained of "pain in one knee" and "scratches on an elbow", Mery Mozo, the mayor of the Motavita municipality, told Blu Radio.

The accident occurred on Friday when "a driver performed an improper manoeuver and hit him," added the town hall.

The town hall posted pictures of Quintana sitting on a plastic chair by the side of the road, talking to the mayor and police, with his brother and Arkea-Samsic teammate Dayer alongside him, seemingly unhurt.

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.

The mayor said the car tried to get away but was blocked by Quintana's entourage.

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.

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.