Bahrain Victorious has announced its Tour de France contingent, with GC contenders Jack Haig and Damiano Caruso named to the eight-man squad.

Australian Haig has the opportunity to lead the Tour de France squad for the second time in two years after a strong start last July but a crash early in the race. He finished on the podium at the Vuelta a España and took fifth place at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

"This year I am a little more relaxed going into the Tour than I was last year. Last year I put a lot of pressure on myself and went into the race to prove myself to my new team," said Haig.

"This year I feel more comfortable in the team, along with the riders in the Tour.

"Like I said, we have a strong lineup for the race and we have great support on the flat. [As for my personal ambitions, I want to do well on GC and if I can finish in the top five by the end of the Tour, I'll be pretty happy. As for team ambitions, I want to get a result in the stages.

Caruso, meanwhile, finished second in last year's Giro d'Italia and 10th in the 2020 Tour de France. The Italian veteran finished fourth in the Dauphiné and will form a two-pronged GC attack in Bahrain with Haig.

The team also relies on Dylan Teuns and Matej Mohoric, who both have two stage wins at the Tour. Three of those wins came in last year's race, with Teuns taking a breakaway victory at Le Grand-Bornand in the Alps.

In addition to the duo and Haig, young Briton Fred Wright is the fourth member of last year's Bahrain Tour team.

Spanish veteran Luis Leon Sanchez brings experience to the team; Jan Tratnik, who competed in the 2019 Tour, and Kamil Gradek, making his racing debut, were selected as key helpers.

Mohoric, who won two stages from a breakaway last year, said the cobbled fifth stage will be on his hit list this time around.

"My goal in this year's Tour is to try to win a stage again. My favorite stage is stage 5, which finishes in the Arenberg forest. I'm the first rider to enter this course in Paris-Roubaix, so it's my dream to finish first here again in July."

"I'm confident. I've been working as hard as ever for the biggest race of the season. If I don't win there, I want to try for a stage win from a breakaway group elsewhere. My teammates are ready. Together, we will race even better than last year."