PARIS — Chris Froome says "it will be a huge relief just to be back in the peloton" next week in the UAE Tour, eight months after he suffered devastating injuries in a high-speed crash. The four-time Tour de France winner fractured a thigh, elbow and vertebrae in the career-threatening accident during a Criterium du Dauphine practice ride in June last year. After intensive rehab he is ready to take the next step towards trying to secure a record-equaling fifth Tour title in July. "The year"s gone incredibly well so far but having said that I do still need to manage expectations," he told his Team Ineos website on Friday. "I"m still quite a way off where I was at the Dauphine before the crash. It"s going to take me a while to get back to that shape." The 34-year-old said a return to racing had been all he had thought about "for months now". "It will be a huge relief just to be back in the peloton again," he said. "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 seven-day UAE Tour starts in Dubai on Sunday. — AFP