The EF Education Team has finalized its full roster for the 2022 season, with Lachlan Morton and Alex Howes remaining.

The two, who have led EF's "alternative" off-road calendar, were not included in the 2022 UCI registered rider list, but are now part of a team of up to 31 riders as defined by the UCI.

"This has the potential to be the strongest roster we've ever had. It's dynamic, fun, interesting, and has tremendous potential."

The team will be known as EF Education Nippon in 2021, but Nippon will no longer be the title sponsor. On Thursday, the team named its 31 riders for 2022 and announced its ambitions for the upcoming season.

Rigoberto Urán and Hugh Carthy will remain the Grand Tour leaders, Alberto Betiol and Michal Valgren will lead the spring classics, Nielson Paules will target the more rugged one-day races, Magnus Cort will target the breakaway and selective sprint will be targeted, and Stefan Bissegger will battle the world's best watches. [Ten riders have left, including Sergio Iguita and Lawson Craddock, and 11 new riders have joined. The biggest signing is the addition of two-time Criterium du Dauphiné stage winner Marc Padun, who Vaughters, after revealing the extensive background checks he has done, asserts is one of the biggest talents he has seen.

Another big name is former Grand Tour podium finisher and Il Lombardia champion Esteban Chaves (BikeExchange), while other new riders include Owain Doull (Ineos), Odd Christian Eyking ( Intermarché-Wanty), Ben Healy (Trinity), Melhawi Kudus (Astana), Sean Quinn (Hagens Berman Axiom), James Shaw (Ribble Well Dite) and Georg Steinhauser (Tyrol KTM), Marline van den Bergh (FDJ Conti), Lukasz Wisniewski (Qhubeka-NextHash).

"We replaced a third of the team, which is a pretty extreme turnover, but it was with the very specific intention of changing the way we race and what we focus on," Vaughters said. [It's] a very opportunistic team that can win on almost any terrain. And those wins come to our team in any way, shape, or form. The possibilities this year are truly far-reaching, in a way that has probably never been done before in the long history of this team.

"We are most eager to do something we have never done before. We've always wanted to win a stage championship. But what I've never done before is to go for the mountains jersey.

No mention was made of off-road plans, but Morton, who finished last year's Tour de France solo, and Howes, who has raced extensively in gravel, will certainly be the main focus.