On Friday, the World Tour's longest-running team name got a little more succinct, as Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materio announced Circus' promotion to co-title sponsor; in 2023, the team will race as Intermarché-Circus-Wanty The team revealed this during a presentation in Charleroi.

Circus was the team's title sponsor in 2020, before the Belgian team acquired Continuum Sports, the former CCC team management company, and obtained a World Tour license.

"We have taken a step forward this season, both on the sporting side with 24 wins and 5th in the UCI world ranking, and on our project side," team CEO Jean-François Broulard said in a press release.

The team, also known as the Ardent Group Cycling Academy, will be the title sponsor of the under-23 team and will be directed by Kevin Van Melsen, who raced for the team for over a decade and retired at the end of this season.

"I am incredibly happy to be back with the Astana team. It is a great pleasure and a great motivation for me to sign with the team again," said Sanchez. I want to thank Alexandre Vinokurov and the entire management team for giving me this opportunity. We parted ways at the end of last year, but I spent this season as productively as possible, working hard, gaining new experience, and trying to improve professionally.

"Of course, I am grateful to my current team for giving me the great opportunity to spend the 2022 season with them, but now I look forward to reuniting with the Astana Kazakstan team and continuing to work towards new goals together."

Last year, Astana faced a change in management and sponsorship woes. Premier Tech fell out with the team and Vinokurov was temporarily ousted from the team structure. Meanwhile, Sanchez moved to Bahrain Victorious. With the disqualification of Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), he finished 13th in the Tour de France, the team leader.

"I know Luis Leon Sanchez well. He is a great team rider, a great assistant and a true professional. It was unfortunate that we lost such a reliable rider last year, but it turned out that way. And now we are very happy to have the opportunity to bring him back to the team and sign him. Sanchez can be counted on in every race and I know he will give 100% to help the team achieve its goals. So all I can say is "Welcome back, Luis Leon,"" Vinokurov said.

Team DSM announced the addition of Australian Alex Edmondson for 2023; the 28-year-old will transfer from Team BikeExchange-Jayco. An Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion on the track, Edmondson was Australia's road champion in 2018.

"I am really looking forward to joining Team DSM. There are a lot of young but very talented riders on the team and being able to help and drive them is something that motivates me," Edmondson said. 'I also like how the team approaches things, thinking outside the box and going down different paths and roads. They are a very successful team and I want to be part of that success. I already know some of the team and am eager to start in earnest in January."

Two neo-pros were announced at the same time, with fellow Australian Matthew Dinham and Englishman Sean Flynn, both 22, making their World Tour debuts with the team in 2023. Dinham is this season's Australian MTB champion. He finished 12th overall at the Tour de l'Avenir. Flynn is also a specialist in a variety of disciplines: road, cyclocross, and mountain biking. In 2021 he switched to full-time road with the SEG Racing Academy team, and this season he was with Tudor Pro Cycling.

Toms Skžiņš, 31, has extended his contract with Trek-Segafredo by two years. He boasts three stage wins at the Tour of California and won the mountains prize at the Tour de Romandie this season. He said his major goal for the next two years is to win a stage in the Grand Tour.

"It's already been a few years since I signed with the team. I don't see any other place to be for the next two years but with this team. I think I've stepped up with each year I've been with the team. Some of that has paid off, and some of it hasn't personally paid off as a result. Overall, my ability to help the team has improved each year. Now we have new and exciting riders developing on the team, like Matthias Skjelmors.

"This was my first year running the classics and it was fun. I enjoyed being part of the team. It was a nice change of pace because I've always raced the Ardennes. I still have a lot of races I want to do and a lot of races I haven't done yet."