Tour de France champion Chris Froome leads an all-purpose Team Sky squad in Jayco Herald Sun Tour

DUAL Tour de France champion Chris Froome will spearhead an all-purpose Team Sky squad in next week’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

PAU, FRANCE - JULY 15: Chris Froome of Great Britain and Team Sky climbs the Col du Tourmalet during stage eleven of the 2015 Tour de France, a 188 km stage between Pau and Cauterets, on July 15, 2015 in Pau, France. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

DUAL Tour de France champion Chris Froome will spearhead an all-purpose Team Sky squad in next week’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour.

The crack British team finalised its line-up for Australia’s oldest stage race, which kicks off with a twilight CBD prologue next Wednesday.

Froome will be protected on the five-stage race by two-time British national champion Peter Kennaugh, Italian classics specialist Salvatore Puccio, Colombian climber Sebastian Henao and domestiques Ian Boswell and Luke Rowe; the latter finishing eighth in last year’s Paris-Roubaix.

Froome will use the 63rd edition of the race to launch arguably the biggest season of his career. The Kenyan-born Brit, 30, will aim to become just the second rider to win back-to-back tours de France since Miguel Indurain in 1995 before backing up for Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro two weeks later.

He arrives in Australia eager to race after a pre-season that included a Rio reconnaissance mission and Mallorca team training camp.

“I’m looking forward to starting my season,” Froome said after touching down in Adelaide on Monday.

“The Sun Tour is certainly a race I have great memories of from 2008, particularly the awesome time trial by Stuey (Stuart O’Grady), but I also have great memories of the Commonwealth Games,” Froome said.

“My training has been going well and obviously I’m not in Tour de France form just yet, so it might be tough to win, but we have a strong team so I’m looking forward to racing.”

Team Sky sports director Gabriel Rasch said the team was excited to race the Herald Sun Tour for the first time.

Chris Froome and Team Sky will put up a real challenge for the Herald Sun tour.

“It’s always a very competitive race and I’m pleased to have a strong group of talented riders,” Rasch said.

“Chris Froome ... it will be his first competitive race since last year’s Vuelta, so we’re looking forward to seeing him back on the bike.”

Veteran Victorian Pat Shaw, who will compete in his ninth Herald Sun Tour for continental team Avanti IsoWhey Sports, said “nothing but great positives” would come out of Sky’s attendance.

When it came to matters on the road, he said the WorldTour team would change the race dynamic.

“They will try and control a lot until the moments that are most perfect for Froome, which does change the race a fair bit,” Shaw said.

“It is fantastic. We’re really excited about having the chance to race against him and, of course, we hope we can beat him.”