“It feels great to be a bike racer again” – Chris Froome makes his racing return at the UAE Tour

Chris Froome has finally returned to racing today, safely negotiating the opening stage of the UAE Tour, eight months after sustaining horrific injuries at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Quoted in a tweet from Team Ineos following today’s stage, the 34-year-old, whose injuries included a broken right femur, said: “It feels great to be a bike racer again.”

Today’s stage was one for the sprinters, with Bora Hansgrohe’s Pascal Ackermann getting the better of Lotto Soudal’s Caleb Ewen.

Froome, meanwhile, came home in the bunch, 115th of the 140 riders who completed the 148-kilometre stage from La Pointe to Dubai Silicone Oasis.

It's what we've been waiting for!@chrisfroome BACK ON A BIKE😎
Welcome back, Chris pic.twitter.com/q6JqqNIibQ

— UAE Tour Official (@uae_tour) February 23, 2020

The four-time Tour de France champion’s return to competition comes almost exactly four months before this year’s 107th edition of the race begins in Nice.

Froome has said that his recovery has been motivated by his aim to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only five-time yellow jersey winners.

Feels good to pin the numbers on again 😌🚴🏻‍♂️ #cycling #recovery pic.twitter.com/5afBWgWqpS

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) February 23, 2020

Speaking ahead of the UAE Tour earlier this week, he said: “It’s all I’ve thought about for months now – being back racing. It will be a huge relief just to be back in the peloton again.

“It feels like I’ve been given a second chance to come back to pro racing after a crash like that. I’m definitely not taking that for granted.

“The year’s gone incredibly well so far but having said that I do still need to manage expectations.

“I’m still quite a way off where I was at the Dauphiné before the crash. It’s going to take me a while to get back to that shape.”

As part of his rehabilitation, Froome has worked on building up the strength in his right leg.

“It’s been great to be back doing the normal sessions with the guys and actually being able to get through the workload again,” he said.

“I’ve still got to work on the strength of the leg which was injured but that’s already improving quickly.”

Froome added: “This is a great way for me to start my season. It’s a race I missed out on last year and I was really hoping to do.

“It should be a good place for me to test out my legs and get back in the peloton again. Hopefully I can do a job for the team and we can try and get the best result possible.”