Total Direct Energie announced the contract extension of sprinter Niccolo Bonifazio, as well as the addition of Bonifazio's younger brothers Leonardo and Jeffrey Soup, strengthening the sprint train of the French team.

Niccolo Bonifazio joins the Pro Continental team in 2019 after two years with Bahrain-Merida, where the Italian enjoyed a successful first season with seven wins: three stage wins and the overall at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, one stage win at the Vuelta Ciclista Comunidad de Madrid, and wins in the one-day races Omloop Mandel Raie Schelde Mourebeke and Grote Prix Jehu Schelens.

While the really big wins are still up for grabs, Bonifazio's third-place finish on the final stage of the Tour de France, the Champs-Elysées, the so-called "sprinters' world championships," proved that the 26-year-old has the talent to compete with the best in the world on the big stage.

And that talent is exactly what Total Direct Energy team manager Jean-Rene Bernadeau hopes to develop further by extending Bonifazio's contract for the next two seasons.

Bonifazio and his team management and teammates hope it will lead to a local sprint victory at the Tour, and with his brother Leonardo from the Italian Continental team Sangemini-Trevigiani-MG.Kvis, the past four The arrival of French rider Soupe, who spent the season with Cofidis, has bolstered the Italian's sprint train.

The 28-year-old Soupe's time with rival French team was equal to that of sprinter Nacer Bouhanni, but Bouhanni's relationship with the team deteriorated, limiting his opportunities to work directly with him, and Bouhanni eventually moved to Arkea Samsic in 2020.

According to a Total Direct Energie press release, Soup "wants a new challenge."