Swiss pro in snapped steerer crash tweets (and deletes) broken Bianchi pic; Strava adds 'Perceived exertion' to mobile app; Glitch sees Santander Cycles app users spammed; Oz driver channels Ronnie Pickering in epic road rage rant +more on live blog

We're thrilled to announce the signing of race-winning rider @WoutPoels, as we build an exciting new chapter for the team with McLaren. #WelcomeWout

Full story: https://t.co/DBZ3yun67K pic.twitter.com/9QI9XIabWo

— Team Bahrain Merida (@Bahrain_Merida) September 18, 2019

It's been rumoured for a while, but now it's official that Poels has left Team Ineos to join Bahrain-Merida. Coinciding with the team's recent partnership with the British automotive manufacturer McLaren, Poels said in a statement: “It’s impossible not to admire what Team Bahrain Merida has achieved in less than three seasons, and I’m very excited about the opportunity that its joint venture with McLaren offers.

“Combined with Rod Ellingworth’s expertise, McLaren’s involvement promises to make Bahrain Merida one of the best and most captivating teams in the peloton, and I look forward to playing a key part in its future success.”

Saturday’s concluding stage of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain marked the final race for Madison-Genesis – and by means of farewell, the popular UCI Continental team with one of the most distinctive kits in the peloton has put together this video charting its seven seasons in the sport. It’s well worth a watch.

No words. It’s absolutely appalling the way the British media treats their athletes.@gareththomas14 @benstokes38 @Mo_Farah @SirWiggo @paulajradcliffe https://t.co/sk1F21gAMW

— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) September 18, 2019

Froome tweeted in support of the retired rugby star, who claims to have been forced into going public with his HIV status due to a blackmail attempt from a tabloid journalist: "It’s absolutely appalling the way the British media treats their athletes", Froome added.  

An 18-tonne road gritter has been given a makeover in rainbow colours ahead of next week’s UCI Road Cycling World Championships, when it will form part of the first-ever publicity caravan to feature in the event.

The vehicle, which will carry the slogan, North Yorkshire – Salt of the Earth, will precede the women’s and men’s elite road races, respectively being held on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September.

If you’ve ever been present when the publicity caravan has passed by ahead of a big race such as a Tour de France stage, you’ll know each vehicle is traditionally accompanied by people dishing out freebies, and you have to admire the lateral thinking that’s gone into this one – there will be natural sea salt crisps from Yorkshire Crisps, as well as salted fudge from Harrogate brand Stirrd.

Andy Hindley, CEO of Yorkshire 2019, said: “We are very excited to be the first hosts of the UCI Road World Championships to have a publicity caravan because it’s such a great way to engage the thousands of roadside spectators before the riders arrive.

“We are enormously grateful to North Yorkshire County Council for the role they have played in the planning for this huge sporting event and it is great to have them in the caravan.”

Sir Chris Hoy is backing retired Scotland rugby great Doddie Weir's fight against Motor Neurone Disease, taking to Twitter to urge followers to show their support by buying a cycling jersey or bottle of gin, profits from which will go to the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation.

I'm supporting @MNDoddie5 in his mission to tackle Motor Neuron Disease! Be part of the cure and buy the new Doddie Cycle Jersey. All profits from each sale going directly to the Foundation! Buy here: https://t.co/cY9EeQEpmu (or the gin here: https://t.co/Ll08jSegkH’5-gin-launch pic.twitter.com/PwBgg4zdcV

— Chris Hoy (@chrishoy) September 17, 2019

49-year-old Weir, who played 61 times for Scotland, set up the charity which has its own distinctive tartan after announcing in January 2017 that he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, and so far it has raised more than £1 million for research into the condition and to support people living with it.

Strava is releasing two new in-app features to their Summit subscribers, ‘Fitness’ and ‘Perceived Exertion’, to help users track workouts over time and estimate their training load. 

Fitness will helps athletes understand how workouts are adding up over time, Strava say, with a daily Fitness Score charted on a graph to provide a high-level view of individual fitness trends over time. You can also zoom out to analyse fitness trends over one month, three month, six month, one year and two year periods.

Perceived Exertion allows you to manually note how intense a run, ride, swim or other activity felt on a scale of 1 to 10. Strava say: "Whether an athlete trains with or without a device or heart rate monitor, they can now capture their effort and track their Fitness Score over time."  

They will be available to use on both the iOS and Android versions of Strava's mobile app, for those who pay the subscription for Strava Summit. 

Medical Update: Steve Cummings

Unfortunately following his crash at the @TourofBritain it's been confirmed that @StevoCummings sustained fractured vertebrae and won't race for the rest of the season.

Get well soon, Stevo!

Full details: https://t.co/gaRCj4B0Sf pic.twitter.com/oiBh4iCyM7

— Team Dimension Data (@TeamDiData) September 17, 2019

Dimension Data confirmed last night that the 38-year-old's injuries have forced him out for the rest of the season. They say that Cummings underwent "thorough diagnostics" at Liverpool's neurosurgical department, and was found to have fractured four vertebrae of the thoracic spine: "Luckily no further neurological damage occurred and an operation is not necessary."