Zdenek Štival has moved to Team Bike Exchange Jayco for the 2023 season. Australia's World Tour program announced Saturday that it has signed the Czech Republic veteran Štival as team captain for one season on the road and will focus on classics and one-day races.

"Changing teams at the end of my career is something special for me. I had a great time with my previous team and I am very excited about this new season with Team Bike Exchange Jayco," Stival said in a press release.

"I am ready to start this new chapter and I am sure it will be very special for me. Of course, the Belgian Classic will be an important competition for me and I am looking forward to competing in my new colors. I believe this is an important assignment for me at this stage of my career and I am very happy to be able to do so."

The opportunity with Bike Exchange Jayco will extend the 36-year-old's career to 18 seasons. During this time he won the Strade Bianche, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and E3 Harelbeke, and was twice runner-up in Paris-Roubaix (2015 and 2017).

In early August, Stibal admitted that he was looking for a new team after Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl turned down his offer of a new contract. He has had several health issues over the past few years, including a heart arrhythmia that led to cardiac ablation surgery in 2021 and COVID-19. This summer, he finished second in the Tour of Leuven and seems to be back on track.

"I am interested in racing with different material and working with Giant is a great opportunity for me. Such a change will give me even more motivation to maintain my performance and compete with the best riders in the peloton. It will be a great energy for me," added Stibal.

BikeExchange-Jayco recently added strong riders to its team, including Filippo Zana of Bardiani-CSF-Faizane, Chris Harper of Jumbo-Visma, and Eddie Dunbar of Ineos Grenadier. The team extended the contracts of team leaders Simon Yates (until 2024) and Michael Matthews (until 2025).

A three-time cyclocross world champion, Stibal is currently competing in the road world championships in Wollongong, Australia; he was seventh in the 2021 road race world championships.

BikeExchange-Jayco also announced a contract renewal with Australian Jess Allen.

The Perth native is a valuable domestique and has been praised by team management as a "reliable rider" and has proven to be a team player on and off the bike.

"I am happy and excited to re-sign with GreenEDGE for the 2023 season. I look forward to using my experience and knowledge to help develop the new riders who will join the team next year," Allen said.

"This year I saw how strong our current riders are, which will give me the confidence and motivation to achieve even greater results next year. Personally, I had a bit of a bad season, but it was also one of my strongest seasons on the bike, and I'm motivated to do some solid off-season training and improve even more next season. As I return to Australia after two years in Europe, I'm really looking forward to racing in my Green Edge kit again during the "summer of cycling" in Australia"

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The 29-year-old from Perth first came to prominence as a teenager in 2012 when she won the youth class of the Women's Tour of New Zealand. Two years later she won the road race title at the Oceania Cycling Championships.

This season, she helped teammate Alex Manley to third place overall in the Tour of Scandinavia and supported Georgia Baker in the Simac Ladies Tour, where Baker finished third on stage three. Allen himself had a good showing in the Postnord Volgorda West Sweden road race, finishing in the top 40.