Whilst mass cycling events are mainstream in Europe, South Africa and Australia, they are still only developing in the USA. Italian company KronService SRL contracted Accuchip Timing to time their inaugural Gran Fondo Giro D’Italia at Coral Cables in Florida. The event had a strong Italian theme with the odd Ferrari being seen amongst the parade.
Over 1500 riders competed over one of three distances, the longest being 108 miles. The timing system used was Ultra and disposable transponders – the same setup used for Gran Fondo Giro D’Italia Beverly Hills (CA) seven days earlier. This setup is fast becoming the standard for timing and tracking mass cycling events including the 2013 Around the Bay in a Day with 16,000 bikes and the upcoming Tour Down Under with 6500 bikes.
