Julian El Fares has signed a contract with EF Pro Cycling for the 2021 season, joining Fumiyuki Beppu and Hideto Nakane on the WorldTour team from Nippo Delcoin Provence.

"I am really grateful to EF Pro Cycling. I am really looking forward to showing Julien El Fares the best next year," El Fares said in a statement released by his new team.

The Frenchman has been racing professionally since 2008, racing for Cofidis, Team Type 1, and Sojasun before moving to then La Pomme Marseille before the 2014 season.

The biggest win of El Fares' career came in 2009 when he won the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Capannoli. He has completed the Tour de France three times and has been an active presence on the French calendar while with his home team, Nippo Delcoyne Provence.

"I still live in Manosque, Provence, which is more famous for its spectacular lavender fields than for cycling hero Edouard Fachleitner. He came second in the 1947 Tour de France," El Fares said.

El Fares, now 35, said he is eager to serve as a mentor to younger riders in EF Pro Cycling.

"I am excited to provide them with the experience I have gained from racing in Europe and to help the entire team achieve the best possible results," said El Fares, who will be the seventh newcomer to EF Pro Cycling in 2021.

The American team also signed NTT's Michael Valgren and CCC's Will Barta, Colombia's NeoPro, Diego Camargo and Danial Arroyave, and the Nippo Delco One Provence trio.

Nippo is said to be a possible future co-sponsor of EF Pro Cycling. The Japanese company will also support the nurturing Continental team Nippo-Provence-PTS after the UCI severed ties with the Delco One Provence team, which initiated bank guarantee proceedings for non-payment of wages during the 2020 season.