Bahrain-Merida announced Wednesday the signing of six more riders for the 2020 season. It signals a new era for the WorldTour team, which has already welcomed new team principal Rod Ellingworth from Team Ineos.

Mark Cavendish of Dimension Data is also rumored to be joining the team, and the team's partner, British F1 team McLaren, will co-sponsor the team starting in 2020.

Pero Bilbao, Eros Capecchi, Marco Haller, Scott Davis, Kevin Inkelaar, and Raphael Valls will add considerable horsepower to a team that has lost Vincenzo Nibali and Rohan Dennis for next year. But Ellingworth's expertise and experience, combined with McLaren's strengthened role and the already announced additions of Wout Poels and Mikel Landa, could make Bahrain-Merida a team to beat in 2020.

Spanish rider Bilbao joins from Astana after spending three seasons with the Kazakh WorldTour team. The 29-year-old finished sixth overall at last year's Giro d'Italia and won two stages at this year's Italian Grand Tour.

Meanwhile, Haller, who joins from Katusha-Alpecin, adds sprinting ability and Classics experience to the team.

Spain's Rafael Valls has spent the past two seasons with Movistar as a teammate of newcomer Landa. The 32-year-old won the Spanish one-day race, the Prueba Villafranca Ordidiaco Classica, by himself this season and will be another rider to rely on in the stage races.

The team's two young riders, 22-year-old Inkelaar and 24-year-old Davis, join from the Groupama-FDJ continental-level feeder teams and Dimension Data, respectively.

"We are thrilled to have these six riders join the team and be part of our future direction with Rod Ellingworth and McLaren," said team general manager Brent Copeland.