Chris Froome will return to racing at the UAE Tour next month as he continues his recovery from career-threatening injuries. Froome broke multiple bones, including his right femur, a hip and ribs, when he crashed into a wall at high speed during a recon ride at the Critérium du Dauphiné last June.

The seven-times Grand Tour winner aims to be on the start line for the Tour de France in June, determined to pursue a record-equalling fifth Tour title. His return to racing will come in the week-long UAE Tour, which starts on 23 February.

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In a short video posted from a training camp, Froome said: “Training has been going really well in Gran Canaria so I’m really happy to announce I’ll be starting my season at the UAE Tour next month, starting in Dubai. It’s a race I missed out on last year so it’s a great place for me to start my season this time around. Thanks for all the support, so see you out on the road.”

Froome returned to riding in September and made a brief appearance in the team time trial at the end-of-season Saitama Criterium in Japan.

He joins a provisional startlist for the UAE Tour, which also includes former world champion Alejandro Valverde, last year’s Giro d’Italia king of the mountains Giulio Ciccone, and Froome’s team-mate Rohan Dennis, the world time-trial champion. The race is also on the agenda for Bahrain-McLaren’s Mark Cavendish.