“Aside from a collarbone, all are fine, and it was simply one of those things,” the spokeswoman said.

The accident first hit social media after Glenn Druery, a keen cyclist, who is known for his work organising preference flows for minor parties, posted that his group had hit a diesel slick first and that then Mr Abbott’s group had also fallen foul of the hazard.

“Sunday ride .. one of our group just hit a diesel slick and crashed. Minutes later, Tony’s group came round the same corner and his pack hit the deck hard hard,” he wrote.

“His mate broke his collarbone. Fortunately the PM rides with a medical crew in a big black car.”

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said he does not travel with medics but the Australian Federal Police detail had a first-aid kit on board and one of the riding party was a doctor who helped treat the injured cyclist at the scene.