Chris Froome returned to competitive action. AFP/GIUSEPPE CACACE

DUBAI: Chris Froome returned to competitive cycling for the first time in eight months as German Pascal Ackermann sprinted to an opening-stage victory on the UAE Tour on Sunday (Feb 23).

It was seven-time Grand Tour winner Froome's first competitive stage since suffering numerous injuries in a high-speed crash into a wall while training at the Criterium du Dauphine last June.