Ben Hellmans has fully recovered from injuries sustained in a crash during the second stage of the Tour Down Under in January and will compete in the Tour de France for the first time later this month, his organization, Israel Startup Nation, announced.

"The Tour is the biggest race in the world, so I am happy to represent," Hellmans said in a press release on Thursday.

"The stages I'm looking forward to are hard stages - long, hard stages with climbs. Eight riders will be looking for their chance and working with each other to win the stage."

Hermans, who has raced for teams such as RadioShack and BMC and has competed in the Giro d'Italia four times and the Vuelta a España twice, broke his collarbone and shoulder and three ribs in a crash at the end of stage 2 of the Tour Down Under.

The 34-year-old returned to racing at the Vuelta a Burgos in July, finishing sixth in the third stage of the Spanish race and securing seventh place overall.

Early last month, Hermans appeared to have been dissuaded from participating in this year's Tour after expressing his opposition to the psychological impact of social isolation on the race, but he was apparently persuaded.

The Israeli Startup Nation, which has announced its eight Tour representatives one by one after announcing on Wednesday that Guy Niv would be the first Israeli to participate in the famed French race, also announced the participation of Tom Van Asbroeck on Thursday.

"It is a great honor for me that the team has chosen me for the biggest race of the year," said the 30-year-old Belgian rider. 'Mainly I will be assisting the leader, but anything can happen. I hope we can show our ISN colors at the Tour and be proud of what we have achieved."