Transfer activity at AG2R La Mondial intensified on Tuesday with the announcement that Marc Sarrault and Damien Touze will join the team for the next two seasons.

A day after it was announced that Greg Van Avermaet would join from the CCC team along with Michael Scheer and Romain Bardet would move to Team Sunweb, the French team announced that for next season, which will be rebranded as the AG2R Citroën team, the fifth and sixth New faces were added.

Fast finisher Sarrault won stages in the Paris-Bourges, Chorée-Pays de la Loire, Route Adélie de Vitré, Tour de Vendée, and Etoile de Besseges in the 2019 Coupe de France series.

The 27-year-old joined from Groupama-FDJ, where he has spent the last six years of his professional career, but is currently sidelined after dislocating his shoulder in a horrific crash on the opening stage of the Tour de Pollogne last week.

"During our discussions, I was attracted by Vincent Lavene's description of the project as focused on the classics and sprinting opportunities, and I finally agreed," said Sarrault.

"I still have personal ambitions and aspirations. Racing with the great leaders of the Classics like Oliver Naessen and Greg Van Avermaet will be at a very high level and it will be very motivating to be able to race with them in the biggest race on the calendar. Personally, I am focused on winning the UCI World Tour.

Touze, meanwhile, joins from Cofidis, the third French WorldTour team where he spent his first two seasons as a professional.

The 24-year-old all-rounder finished third in last year's French national championship road race and seventh overall in the Etoile de Besseges earlier this year. He is also currently sidelined as a result of a crash in Pollogne.

"I was convinced to join the project to concentrate on the classics with Oliver Naessen. I want to progress in this field and help the team win at Monument. I like these races and I think the profile fits my strengths.

"I know the level of the team is very high, but that motivates me even more. Personally, I want to win races. Last year, especially in the French Championships, I was not far from winning.

With the addition of Sallot and Touzet, AG2R now has six new riders for 2021, following Van Avermaat and Schaal, plus the Classics reinforcements of Stan DeWolf and Geijs Van Hocke. It will be a season of change, with stage race leaders Romain Bardet and Pierre Latour moving on and Citroën becoming the new co-sponsor.

The team extended the contracts of Nessen, Benoit Kosnefrois, Alexis Vuillermoz, Larry Walbus, Ben Gastauer, and Mikael Sherrell.

At the time of the contract announcement, team manager Vincent Lavenu declared Sallot and Touzet "riders of the future."

"Marc Sarrault already has a lot of experience. He has been winning regularly since he turned pro. He is one step away from a great win on the UCI World Tour and we will do everything we can to help him succeed," Ravneux said.

"Damien Touzet is younger, but he has already shown that he is a puncher, especially last year when he finished third in the French Championships. He is willing to progress to get closer to the best. He and Marc Sarrault are two riders with a great future ahead of them."