The Jizerská 50 trail is on Google Maps starting today

A week before the start of the Jizerská 50, the trail of this legendary cross-country skiing race is available in virtual form. Google has posted images from the shooting of the popular trail with its special Street View Trekker device in January. A 360° view of the entire trail is newly accessible on Google Maps. Racers as well as hikers and spectators can thus have a training run on the trail using their computers and mobile phones before the start of the race.

Starting today, lovers of mountains and winter sports and simply those who are interested in the conditions that several thousand brave souls have annually endured for more than fifty years can enjoy the views on the popular Jizera highway in the Google Maps application. The whole trail of the famous race is now available in the app’s Street View functionality. For the first time ever this year, racers have the possibility to have a training run on the trail before the race; others can be inspired by the 360° views of the snow-covered landscape to take part in the next edition of the event.

The Jizerská 50 is now fully online

Google, which sent its Street View Trekker out on the Jizerská 50 trail aboard a snow scooter at the beginning of January, posted the results of its New Year’s mapping prior to the start of this year’s 51st edition of the race, which is planned for the third weekend in February. The shooting of the trail in the Jizera Mountains for the Street View functionality was completely unique in the Czech Republic for two reasons: it was the first time shooting was carried out using a snow scooter and it is also the first collection of images that a Czech partner of Google incorporated into Google Maps.

“We decide to map the Jizerská 50 trail for Street View because we wanted to make it accessible to the general public, not only to participants, but also to fans, spectators and potential participants from the Czech Republic and abroad. We are pleased that Google gave us such an opportunity. We believe that our online collection will be valued by all fans of cross-country skiing and of the Czech landscape,” says Richard Valoušek, spokesman for the organising agency Raul. Google spokesperson Alžběta Houzarová adds: “The mapping process was difficult. We used a snow scooter to capture images for Street View for the first time ever in the Czech Republic. But the collection looks beautiful and we hope that it will encourage someone to take part in the race or better prepare for it.”