Sunday 23 February 2020 16:46, UK
Chris Froome said it was a "great feeling" to be back in the peloton after eight months out after coming safely through the opening stage of the UAE Tour.
Froome finished comfortably inside the peloton on the flat stage from The Pointe to Dubai Silicon Oasis, which was won by Germany's Pascal Ackermann in a bunch sprint.
The four-time Tour de France champion had not been in a race scenario since a horrific training crash during last year's Criterium du Dauphine, when he suffered multiple injuries which threatened to bring an early end to his career.
Froome said: "It feels good, it feels really good. It's a great feeling to be back in the bunch and there were so many riders coming up to me and saying it was good to see me back.
"I showed that it was possible to come back after so long. It's still a way to go until I'm back to the level I was at but the first feelings were really good.
"It felt good to just have a race number on, have my elbows out again, and be fighting in the bunch. It feels good to be a bike racer again.
"To be honest I was really excited this morning. It felt like being a neo-pro again. I don't know… it was only eight months out but it felt like longer.
"I know what condition I'm in. I know that I'm not in winning condition but I can get through the race and do what I can for the team. Like I said, it's my first race after eight months, and I can't set my expectations too high. To just being here is a big victory for me."
