Anyone who has organized a sports event — a road race, a cycling competition, or a multi-discipline meet — knows how delicate the timing side of things can be.

A misread bib number, a lost time, a file that won't open on the wrong computer: it only takes one small slip to turn a day of celebration into an organizational headache.

It's out of this awareness that Multirace was born, the software we've been working on over the past few months.

Multirace doesn't start from scratch: it inherits the architecture and experience gained from another one of our projects, dedicated to multi-discipline races. We took what worked best — solid data management, attention to operational detail — and we're rethinking it for a broader, more flexible use case: standalone races, managed independently even by the organizer, without unnecessary constraints.

The first building block we laid down is the **race registry**: the foundation on which everything else is built, from entrants to categories, all the way to the checkpoints recorded during the competition.

One of the choices we care about most is **data portability**. Each race is saved in its own self-contained file, which the organizer can place wherever they prefer: on their own computer, on a USB stick, on a shared network folder during the event. There's no fixed path imposed by the software, and no dependency on a remote server: the race file belongs to the organizer, it's portable, and it's designed to work well even when multiple stations need to read and write the same data in real time — for example, when times are being recorded simultaneously from several points along the course.

Anyone who has been involved in organizing a timed race knows that the real test is integration with the timing equipment. The market offers a variety of standards and protocols — professional timers, transponder systems, devices connected via cable or network — and each one "speaks" its own language.

Multirace is designed to communicate with the main families of tools used in the field, whether via direct serial connection, local network, or web page, so it can adapt to different setups: from a small neighborhood race with a single checkpoint, to more complex events with multiple timers and multiple data sources to sort out. The goal is simple to state and complex to achieve: get every checkpoint reading to the right place, matched to the right bib number, without the organizer having to worry about "translating" the technical language of whatever device they're using.

Not everything is about time: participants and spectators are often just as interested in the course itself, with its climbs and descents. That's why Multirace lets you load the GPX track of the route directly into the race registry, and turns it into a clear, readable elevation profile.

All it takes is a GPX file (the same kind you'd download from any GPS device or tracking app, or that you can easily create at your desk with a GPX Track Creator) to automatically get total distance, elevation gain and loss, maximum and minimum altitude, and an interactive profile chart, color-coded by gradient section by section (from green for flat stretches to red for the toughest climbs). The chart is paired with a map of the course, and moving the cursor over the elevation profile instantly highlights the corresponding point on the map, along with distance, altitude, and local gradient in real time.

This feature also follows the software's general philosophy: the loaded track can be published online together with the results, so people following the race from home can get a precise sense not only of who's winning, but also of what the athletes are actually facing at that moment.

On this front, regular readers already know Invia Partenze, the app we introduced in a previous article for quickly recording and sending start-line bib numbers, compatible with Wiclax. Multirace is designed to collect and process exactly this kind of data downstream, together with all the other data flows coming from the various checkpoints along the course.

Timing well is only half the job: the other half is getting the results to the people waiting for them, in real time and in the format best suited to the situation. That's why Multirace offers three different ways of broadcasting results, designed for complementary use cases:

Three different tools, but designed to share the same data source and the same calculation logic: the only thing that changes is how the result reaches its destination — a phone screen, a big display, or a website.

Behind the more visible features are many small choices designed for the real-world life of race organizers:

- the ability to review and correct recorded checkpoints, because something can always go wrong on the field;

- tools to clean up data in a targeted way — for example clearing only entrants or only checkpoints — without having to start an entire archive over from scratch;

- an automatic update system, ensuring that users always have the latest fixes and new features available, without having to worry about manually reinstalling anything.

Work on Multirace continues with frequent updates, and the latest release brings some concrete improvements:

These are improvements designed to respond to needs that emerged directly from real-world use, moving Multirace toward being ever more precise and flexible.

Multirace is still very much a work in progress: we're building it piece by piece, starting from the foundations and adding features in order of practical importance. We chose to talk about it starting from this stage because we believe timing software should be built by truly listening to the needs of people organizing races on the ground — not in the abstract, from behind a desk.

In upcoming articles we'll go deeper into individual features — from entrant management to configuring the various timing devices — to tell, step by step, how Multirace is taking shape.

Timing devices currently supported: Digitech Master, Digitech Master CUBE, Rei 2, Rei PRO, Alge Timy, MyLaps decoder, IDCronos decoder, Invia Partenze WEB acquisition, FinishLynx.

• IP address, MAC address
• operating system type (inferred from the ping TTL)
• response time
• how long it's been online or offline

• start a continuous ping in a dedicated window
• run a traceroute
• scan the most common ports to quickly see what service is running on that machine
• open a remote desktop or SSH connection
• access network shares
• wake a sleeping PC with a Wake-on-LAN packet

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How the system keeps organizers, race radio and fans informed during a cycling race

Anyone who has ever followed a cycling race from the roadside, from a following car, or simply from home knows how important it is to know what's happening at that exact moment: who's in the breakaway, what the time gap is, who has abandoned, what kilometer the peloton is at.

Radio Corsa LIVE was built to answer exactly this need, putting those managing the race in direct communication with those following it.

Radio Corsa LIVE is a web platform designed for the real-time management of cycling events — from time trials to multi-stage races. It's not just a results website: it's the tool the organization uses during the race to communicate news, updates, and technical data, and that the public follows live from their smartphone.

The system covers the entire lifecycle of an event:

Real-time news feed. The heart of the system: race radio writes an update, and within seconds it appears on the public site, categorized by type (breakaway, KOM/GPM, abandonment, TV coverage) and stage. When an operator mentions a rider by simply typing their bib number in parentheses, the system automatically translates it into first name, last name, and team — no more transcription errors or manual lookups in the entry list.

Maps and elevation profiles. Each stage has its own GPX track, viewable as an interactive 2D map, a gradient-colored elevation profile, or a 3D view with satellite terrain — useful for both spectators and TV production.

Distance-covered simulator. A real-time GPS tracker isn't always available on every vehicle following the race. For these cases, Radio Corsa LIVE includes a simulator that estimates the peloton's position based on an average speed set by the operator, with the ability to correct the data as soon as real information arrives (e.g., a reading at a KOM/GPM point).

Printable lists and documents. Entry lists grouped by team, a real-time list of active participants (with automatic flagging of those who've abandoned), all ready to print in A4 format — designed to be distributed to race officials, media, or posted at the start area.

Public access via QR code. Those following the race from the roadside don't need to search for a link: just scan a QR code (printed on signage or distributed to media) to open the event's public home page directly, with live news, route weather, and maps.

Radio Corsa LIVE is designed for three types of users, with different but complementary needs:

Organizers and race committees, who need a reliable tool to manage entrants, stages, and official communications without having to set up complex technical infrastructure — everything runs through a browser-based admin panel, with no software to install.

Race radio commentators and operators, the true heart of the system: those physically following the race and broadcasting what they see in real time. For them, the news-entry interface is designed to be fast to use even in uncomfortable conditions — inside a moving car, with little time to type.

Fans, media, and riders' families, who want to follow the race live without being physically present. The public home page is designed to be viewed on a smartphone, with frequent updates and no registration required.

The key difference is timing: a results website publishes data once the race is over. Radio Corsa LIVE is built for live coverage — every page is designed to be updated and re-checked multiple times during race hours, both by those publishing and those reading. It's an operational tool before it's an informational one, born from the hands-on experience of people managing race timing and communication on the ground.

Radio Corsa LIVE is developed and maintained by KM Service, specializing in timing, GPS tracking, and technical management for cycling events and other sports competitions.

• Staggered starts
• Manual verification of a small group before the start
• Checking athletes starting at different times from the main field
• Integration with automatic timing systems for double-checking

• Sports event organizers
• Race volunteers and staff
• Sports clubs
• Anyone who needs to quickly record and transmit bib numbers linked to a precise start time, especially for spot checks or wave starts