Team Ineos has announced its lineup for the UAE Tour. Chris Froome returns to racing for the first time in eight months, and Andrei Amador makes his team debut after a long contractual dispute.

Froome has not raced since the Criterium du Dauphiné last June, when he crashed during practice on the time trial course, breaking his femur, hip, elbow, spine, and sternum.

After undergoing various surgeries, he began training again in December and in July set his sights on winning his fifth Tour de France, the most in history.

Last month, Froome announced plans to return at the UAE Tour, which runs from February 23-29, and on Thursday Ineos announced him as one of seven riders to compete in the seven-stage race. Froome himself has said that there is no guarantee that he will return to his previous level, and the UAE Tour will be a good indicator of how much progress he has made and how realistic his Tour ambitions are.

While Froome has loosened up his return to racing, Ineos' hopes for the race, which will be shaped by two summit finishes at Jebel Hafeet, may rest with Eddy Dunbar, who finished sixth in the recent Tour de la Provence.

While three longtime Ineos riders, Michael Golas, Christian Nies, and Salvatore Puccio, will be domestiques, there are two big names in the Ineos line-up: Amador and teenager Carlos Rodriguez.

Amador was announced as an Ineos rider last week after a dispute with his former team, Movistar, was finally resolved by a UCI arbitration panel. Amador, a native of Costa Rica, had requested a move last summer, but had already signed a preliminary contract extension with Movistar. Movistar coach Eusebio Unzué said that he would not keep him against his will, but that he would have to pay a termination fee to be released from his pre-contract.

The issue dragged on through Christmas and into the season, but Movistar announced last week that it had reached an agreement with 33-year-old Amador, and the next day Ineos announced Amador's signing.

Amador's plans for the season have not yet been announced, but he has been signed as one of the peloton's main Grand Tour domestiques and last year led Richard Carapas, also signed by Ineos, to victory at the Giro d'Italia.

Ineos' team for the UAE Tour includes Carlos Rodriguez. He is the latest rider to skip the U23s and join the World Tour from juniors, following Lemko Evenpoel and Quinn Simmons.

The Spanish all-rounder, who turned 19 earlier this month, won the Spanish junior time trial title for the second year in a row with "Cometa," the development team formerly founded by Alberto Contador.

In his debut season, Allrounder will combine racing with his university studies while gaining experience.

Team Ineos tours the UAE: Andrei Amador, Eddie Dunbar, Chris Froome, Michael Golas, Christian Nies, Salvatore Puccio, and Carlos Rodriguez.