Chris Froome leads Team Sky at Vuelta a Espana

Froome withdrew from the 2014 Tour de France after crashing twice on stage five

Britain's Chris Froome will lead Team Sky at the three-week Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Saturday, 23 August.

Froome, 29, who quit the Tour de France last month because of injury, leads a team of nine at the third Grand Tour of the season which includes fellow Britons Peter Kennaugh and Luke Rowe.

Britain's Mark Cavendish is absent from the Omega Pharma team and will ride in the Tour du Poitou Charentes instead.

"This is exactly the sort of challenge I need," Froome said.

"You can't dwell on disappointment, you have to move on quickly and the Vuelta is the perfect race to focus on."

Another Briton, Adam Yates, will ride for Orica GreenEdge.

Froome, who won the 2013 Tour, lasted until the fifth stage of this year's race, which was won by Italy's Vincenzo Nibali.

The Briton had resumed riding after his first fall in wet conditions, but withdrew after his second crash with around 66km of the stage to go.

It later emerged he had suffered fractures to his wrist and hand.

"I'm really pleased with how my recovery has gone since the Tour," Froome said.

"I'm a little bit light on racing days this year so getting a Grand Tour under my belt will not only help me now, but it will also help my preparation for next year."

Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford announced last week that Sir Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour de France in 2012, would defend his Tour of Britain title in September rather than race at the Vuelta.

Sprinters Tom Boonen and Tony Martin will lead the Omega Pharma charge in the absence of Cavendish, who dislocated a shoulder and suffered ligament damage when he crashed near the end of the opening stage of the Tour de France in Yorkshire.

Cavendish was hopeful of competing in the classic having taken part in the prologue of the Tour de l'Ain last week.

After the four-day Tour du Poitou Charantes in France, which begins on 26 August, Cavendish will ride in the Tour of Britain, which starts on 7 September.

He told the Omega Pharma website: "After the injury, both myself and the team set a goal to get slowly back into a race environment at the Tour de l'Ain which I've now done.

"We will continue to monitor my condition week by week. As things stand it's impossible to know how I'll be feeling each week considering the severity of the injury and the accelerated recovery time."