The Team Type 1 - Sanofi squad will bring in two Frenchmen for the team in 2012, adding Julien El Fares from Cofidis and Julien Antomarchi of the La Pomme Marseille squad, the team confirmed to Cyclingnews.
El Fares, 26, has been with the Cofidis squad since he was brought in as a trainee in 2006 and then signed to a professional contract for the following seasons.
Article continues belowAn aggressive rider, El Fares is a frequent presence in breakaways and packs a formidable sprint from a small group. He won the first stage of the 2009 Tirreno-Adriatico from a breakaway and won the overall points classification, and also claimed the overall victory in the Tour de Wallonie that year after getting into a winning escape on the penultimate stage.
Antomarchi, 27, has raced mainly in the elite amateur ranks, having had a stint as a trainee with Skil-Shimano in 2009, but his VC La Pomme Marseille team went Continental this year.
Earlier in the month, Antomarchi denied that he had signed a contract with Team Type 1 to Velochrono.fr, stating that he was under contract with his current squad through 2012.
Antomarchi, one of the strongest riders on the VC La Pomme Marseille team, bested Thomas Voeckler to win a stage of the Tour du Haut Var in February and took second overall.
