American Reacts to Strangest Race on Ice - finish elfstedentocht

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[@larsickenroth7169]

Fun fact: in the middle of the 1986-edition of this race, word got out that a suspicious 18-year old called 'W.A. van Buren' was taking part in the race. It was then confirmed that this was actually our current King Willem Alexander (then still a prince) taking part anonymously ;)

[@jdj8168]

the fact that the ice requirements that are necessary for this to be possible are so rare is the reason that this race is so legendary

[@jbird4478]

You should see "The hell of '63" It's a movie about this race in 1963. It was -18 degrees Celsius that day. That's slightly below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Only 69 people made it to the finish, out of 10,000.

[@LuchtLeiderNederland]

69 *noice*

[@annebokma4637]

That is a very good movie to show how it really is

[@mrampaart1672]

I think he would already be ammased with the crossing in the village where the have to kluun

[@leonelsjanofwipper3418]

Yes, and my great uncle Reinier Paping won it. :)

[@ingeborgsvensson4896]

I was born in the Friesland province early 60s and I skated a lot on natural ice, sometimes even over 30 km (about 20 mi) a day but never the "11 city tour", meaning of Elfstedentocht. The professionals start early in the morning for the medals, the general public starts a bit later and is allowed to take all day. The goal is to finish the entire route, that is all. You need to collect a rubber stamp on your card at all 11 locations. And if you finish before midnight and have all 11 stamps you get a so called Elfteden-kruisje, a small cross shaped medal with the number of the year on it as proof that you finished in time. My former boss took part 6 times during his life and has 6 crosses to prove it. During the so-called 'Hell of 1963" only a few dozen out of about ten thousand participants finished due to an unexpected blizzard midday, some even died.

[@weertangel7231]

Its indeed the best known sports event in the Netherlands of the last century, all on natural ice. Its a shame the warming of the earth makes the event inpossible these days since it needs to be at least -10 15 Celcius over a long period of at least 2 weeks for the ice to be strong eneugh to do this event.

[@bruizey7319]

what is skating on natural ice like? Is it smooth or are there rough or sticky spots that trip you up?

[@weertangel7231]

@@bruizey7319 Well, in general it is smooth though near the shore u need to be careful of shrubbery and such sticking through the ice, and since there is a clean water policy(meaning don' throw anything in the water) there is for the most part no garbage that might get stuck in the ice. Though like with most natural ice, u need to be carefull near the middle of a lake/river since it might be thinner there though i general thats inspected very well before letting people on the ice.

[@bruizey7319]

@@weertangel7231 👍

[@bruizey7319]

@@22rosanne 👍

[@leontingen6145]

We don’t get a lot of freezing wether anymore. Or at least freezing enough for this. Our King (then Prince) entered under a fake name 😃 there is also a movie called: Hell of ‘63

[@taal1979]

I was 18 years old when the last edition was held. That was in 1997. I watched it on tv. Because it can only be held when it's cold enought this marathon had only been held 15 times since the first edition. This marathon has a near mytical status because of that.

[@sergeleon1163]

My uncle did compete in the 80's and our family came together and watch the event on TV with a cup of hot chocolate. Winters back than where harsher than nowadays, hence the fact the event is so rare to be held for the ice on the canals to meet the criteria over the length of the course along these 11 cities. Fun fact, in 2019 Maarten van der Weijden (former Olympic champion) has been the first to successful swim this entire course in 74 hours raising millions for cancer charities in the process.

[@Gnom1999]

these races take place on canals. in the netherlands and northwest germany are a lot of those for drainage

[@rome0610]

In the Nederlands there is a mesh of canals to drain water for land reclamation (large parts of the country are below sea level!). These canals are used for this event.

[@jantjestuc1]

Ja ze hebben die kanalen gegraven dat we er op kunnen schaatsen ??? ja !!!! Nee gast ze hebben die kanalen gegraven om er met een trekschuit door te kunnen , omdat er vroeger nog geen auto's waren en wegen , en over het water het vervoeren het makkelijkste was !!!! En wat een onzin vertel je, als je een kanaal graaft moet je die aarde ergens laten !!!!! ja di vlikkker je meteen naast je kanaal neer , die gasten hadden het al zwaar genoeg in die tijd !!! Toen is er een of de andere idioot die het dijken heeft genoemd, het is gewoon een hoop aarde naast een kanaal !!!!! En wat een onzin, dat we onder de zee liggen dan lopen al die kanalen toch vol met zout water !!!!! ga eens proeven het is gewoon zoet water !!! jij kan al die buitenlanders een hoop op hun mouw spelden !!!!! Je zal wel van die groene linkse kliek komen !!!! die alles geloven. Maar jij kan die buitenlanders alles wijsmaken ; ) ha ha ha ga morgen ochtend ff op je werk vertellen je sprookjes die je aan Amerikanen wijs maakt !!!! ha ha ha vertel ze dat jette klaver zijn duim in de dijk heeft gestoken ; ) ha ha ha en dat je binnen 2 weken lekker op hem gaat stemmen !!!! waar woon je in het sprookjes bos ???? of je zit in het rutte kampje !!! het zijn 2 domme uitersten !!!! je Engels is zo goed vertel ze ff dat jesse nog rutten geen mannen zijn !!!! daar help je Nederland me !! nog heel ff en je gaat op youtube vertellen dat je sleutel onder je deurmat licht. en jij zal wel boven de zee spiegel wonen !!! Niet heel slim om te vertellen dat half nederland verzuip aan een onbekend buitenlander !!!!! Heb je zijn ogen gezien !!!!! die staan strak van de drugs !!!! Als die gast de sluisen open zet zijn we de lul !!!! Maar een ding het sprookjes bos ligt wel boven nap. Maar dan komt er een wolf met zijn poot in het meel !!!! en jij denkt dat het geitje jette of rutte is en je doet open !!!!! en ondertussen staat die stoonde Amerikaan de sluizen open te draaien !!!!! en loop ik te verzuipen !!!!! om dat jij zo trots moet zijn over een paar domme schaatsers !!! , en verteld dat we onder water liggen !!!! Als ik jou was zou ik het door de hele wereld gaan schreeuwen !!!!! En je bent toch zo lekker bezich zet je bank gegevens en je pincode ook ff op youtube met je vrije mening !!!! Maar jij zal wel boven nap wonen !!!! dan woord je huisje opeens veel meer waard als 1/3 van Nederland verdwijnt !!!! of je bent heel naïef of je bent een asso , ik denk zelf het eerste !!!!!

[@rome0610]

@@jantjestuc1 After insaulting me for things I didn't say, do you feel better now?😛

[@GiblixStudio]

Elfstedentocht is when the canals are frozen over and passes through 11 villages (eleven city tour/course). however since it hasn't really frozen properly in ages this event has moved to another place. I think the organization rents an area in Norway or something in those Scandinavian regions to make sure it still occurs every year. We dutch dominate skating events at the olympics for a reason

[@anniehope8651]

They have an alternative Elfstedentocht in Sweden every year. It's on a lake. So all Dutch long distance skaters go there once a year. But it's not the real deal of course, and we are still waiting for a real Elfstedentocht to happen.

[@randar1969]

@@anniehope8651 Well with climate change and the winter we have now such an event will become very rare. We need the stars to align and a cold winter. I am glad with the whole Ukraine and energy crisis it wasn't cold enough this winter though.

[@mikea.1652]

@@anniehope8651 the biggest alternative is held on the incredible beautiful "Weißensee" (White lake) in Carinthia, Austria every year. This lake is pretty big and very high up and freezes every year. I went there in the summer once - and the most astonishing thing was - when you jump into that lake - the water actually does taste like tap water - locals just drank it like that. They also banned all private motorboats.

[@JacobBax]

@@randar1969 I think you mean the planets to align, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I also don't know what Ukraine has to do with it.

[@bobsnabby2298]

@@randar1969 It almost happened in 2012 when I lived in the Netherlands. I was lucky to be able to skate on the canals in the middle of Amsterdam. Once in a life time!

[@gwaptiva]

I attended the 85 one, skipping school to travel to that end of the country. It was one massive party, even if you couldn't see the race proper. We cheered ourselves hoarse, for every single amateur that passed. Teacher of ours took part the year after, so we weren't the only ones skipping school; did watch that one on tv. Missed out on the 97 one, didn't even know it took place until much later, as I'd emigrated the year before. Think the closest thing North America has for "sporting folklre" is the Iditarod, but that's without the 15000 amateurs

[@tibozino1671]

85,86 and 97. If I remember correctly, 85 and 86 our schools were closed. Difficult to get to Leeuwarden but my grandparents lived nearby de Zwettehaven. Awesome partys for the spectators in most of the cities the skaters pass

[@johnwageveld4501]

Was 15 at the time during the '97 tour. I remember it was really cold that day, around -10 degrees Celcius though it felt like well under -20. I know because I had to ride my paperround twice that day. We don't get excited often, but when a frost period is going on for 2 weeks, we wait with anticipation to hear those magic words 'iet giet oan!'. The Frysian words that turns the country upside down.

[@Pappa_66]

These races are legendary! As a kid I used to watch these races on TV in Finland. Skating is very popular here too and we used to have same kind of natural ice races but we do not have so many canals and we usually have much more snow so the tracks had to be made on lakes by "snow machines" to make the tracks clean and fast. But you as a fellow "petrol head" might be interested, that we had many actual racing tracks for bikes and cars in every city/town. "Ice track racing" with bikes and cars is good "training" how to handle, react and correct/taking control again without worrying driving in to a tree!! And no age limit...Rovanperä, 8 yrs old.. Also wery useful for ordinary people. Best Regards from Finland!

[@Koen030NL]

This race is a big thing every year it almost happens. But with global warming it is very rare to have the right circumstances to safely have 15000 people going over the ice. Also the last time it happened I was 7 and my teacher in primary school was a participant. You really need to be in excellent shape to even finish this race.

[@fugawiaus]

It would seem that global warming has nothing to do with it. It has only been held 15 times since 1909. With 20 yr periods of it not happening. It also seems that in 2012 it was colder than the early 2000s. That seems strange. It seems to be a rare occurrence due to 20 yr cyclic weather conditions like La Niña etc. it seems temps have been going up then down which is not global warming. It should have been held every single year in the early yrs with it slowly tailing off if it was your global warming.

[@petert3355]

Yeah, it's sad that these events are disappearing. The Ididarod will go the same way. And people still claim that humans are not affecting the climate.

[@fugawiaus]

@@petert3355 this race shows occasional low temps over 100+yr period. 15 times over 100 yrs. Mark that on a graph and it shows a flat line of temps not a gradual incline. So therefore while co2 has steadily increased temps for this event have been flat. Don’t you need warming for your global warming. This is physical evidence the “man made” global warming theory is false. If you have the same temps in 1909, 1997 and 2012 then there is no increase.

[@petert3355]

@@fugawiaus right on time......

[@petert3355]

@@fugawiaus ok let's look at the numbers. You said that this race has been held 15 times over the past century. However it has not been held in the last 25 years. That means 15 times in the first 75 years of the century, average once every 5 years, and not once since 1997. Why the gap over the past 25 years? What has changed/accelerated over the past 25 years?

[@raimogeel9497]

The black ice is actually clear and see through. You see the bottom of the canal. It is the best natural ice to skate on.

[@arturobianco848]

Been to the one in 87 i believe it was. Its a really big thing here in the Netherlands. If you win this race youre way more importaint then winning an olympic gold medall.

[@ronaldharmes7508]

Never expected you would cover the Elfstedentocht ^^ but as mentioned earlier, they don’t skate over roads covered with ice, maybe if we did that we could have it more often because the ice doesn’t need to be 15 cm thick 😅 But it’s because it’s all on natural ice, that makes this event so special The 2012 event got canceled because the ice wasn’t thick enough even after when they shut down all the nearby rivers for transport and waterpompstations to slow down the water

[@michaelcliffe562]

I just watched Dutch reverse racing again and I cant stop laughing!! Absolutly hillarious!

[@baskoning9896]

The latest the Dutch could ride in the Netherlands was in 1997, winters gives us only a few freeze days these years.

[@hotzesybesma8549]

seeing how interested you are in the whole elfstedentocht, you might want to do some research on the elfstedentocht in 1963. it is said to be the most physical demanding race of them all. it's also called the hell of 63 and even has its own film.

[@anniehope8651]

The water looks like a road because it's a bigger canal.

[@EMvanLoon]

I watched this live on tv in 1985 and 1987, from 5AM til ... Skipped school or there were TVs in the classroom, can't remember. One of these was during a weekend, so no problem there. Good times!

[@jenniferharrison8915]

I always watch every event of the Winter and Summer Olympics, Dutch speed skaters are extraordinarily tough and mentally strong! Definitely a case of mind over matter, it's incredible that so many actually chose to compete here! My brother in law is Dutch, but I've never heard of this event - it's something you expect to find skiers doing in Finland or Russia! WOW!! 😃👍😁😥

[@ianprince1698]

used to be a race like this in Lincolnshire near the town of Spalding its been many years since the ice has been thick enough to run this, they use drainage canals and rivers, in the 1930s the crowd gathered around the finish and the ice broke left about 100 people standing in icy water the photo was in the local paper

[@wilco8729]

You are wathing the wrong video. The "Eleven cities tour 1985" is the right one. This video are Just some finishes of the tour but no information ones or ever. Of you see de video: Eleven cities tour 1985. There is mutch more information and you Will see more then Just finishes. A lot of more People are involved in it. Not Just professionals. The hole country is free from work and even the dutch covernment and the King is involved with it. It happend maybe ones pr twice in your hole life. So yeah.... it is somthing special

[@1336mg]

Even our present King participated once. And he made it.

[@JohnWhite-nq5kn]

The races are held on the iced over canals which link all the cities on the course,holland being a relatively flat country has many, many man made canals which fairly regularly freeze over enough for the organizer's to plot a full course, another great video, keep up the good work, hello to all your family,see u later, homes

[@mikkorenvall428]

That's basically the origin of speed skating. As Olympics and other big games came to be organized on off lakeside or during meltwater season, they started to build arenas, but this is where it all started. You do know that Ice Hockey was also originally an outdoor event. So was speed skating too. Netherlands is most famous of doing this, but there did have races also in Denmark, Sweden and Germany... And I believe also atleast in Canada if not northern states of USA. We do also have a similar sport called excursion skating when we go exploring winter wilderness on the lake or river. Which is basically one form of winter hiking.

[@AHVENAN]

If you love wierd/obscure sports/contests, Finland is the holy land... We've got Wife-carrying, mobile phone throwing, rubber boot throwing, swamp football, air guitar world championship.... 🤣

[@robertgrijsen1006]

I was there in 1985 , saw start and finish and in between one big party in Friesland. Even the worst cafe had a row of 100 people in front of the door :) The year after our King Willem Alexander skated the race under the name W.A. van Buren, he was 18 years old at that moment and now our king.

[@Schroefdoppie]

We got the day off from school, so we could watch this on TV back in 85-86. It was Live on TV all day from the early morning start in pitch dark conditions. This was a national event back when we only had 2 TV stations in the Netherlands.

[@ManuelRuiz-xi7bt]

6:18 "Some sort of thin thermal gear": that used to be newspapers.

[@royklein9206]

There is a substitute every year in Austria at the Weissensee where many dutch skaters go now! It's actually called the 'alternatieve elfstedentocht' in some groups

[@Ar23978]

This video is cool. I live in Friesland and have made several eleven city tours as a supporter, it is a province of the Netherlands with its own language.

[@ehekkert]

There are two kinds of skaters, the racers who start first and the ones who just want to complete the whole track. They need to reach the end before midnight. In 1986, a then 18 year old, prince Willem Alexander (our current king) participates anonymously, that is until he's recognised in the 5th of the 11 cities/towns. He did finish the tour.

[@patverum9051]

We need a few weeks of reasonable frost temperatures to thicken the ice, lately winters are too warm.

[@gerbentvandeveen]

It was a Friday night, (Saturday morning) When I said! WE JUST GO THERE!!! My uncle and aunt live in Kimsward! I just had my BMW 318I. Which I had tried on the ice in Spakenburg. And family along the way! We also had a nice lunch there. And that was when I was still dating Gabrielle. And I have to promise her parents that I brought her home safely too!! Next year we will be married 25 years.

[@colingregory7464]

There is an outdoor Ice Hockey match (between the US and Canada?) On natural ice, I think, I saw highlights somewhere

[@jandejong1122]

For the whole story watch "Elfstedentocht 1985 (english)" (33 min)

[@MartijnVos]

Marathon skating is a serious sport that fortunately has a lot more events than just this one. It's usually done on normal skating tracks or in countries where it's a lot colder. Netherland is by far the biggest country in marathon skating, but due to global warming, this event is getting rarer and rarer. You need a lot of very thick natural ice over a particular route, and that only happened once a decade even back when we did have real winters, but with global warming, it's entirely possible that this event will never be held again. Which is a tremendous shame, because it's fantastic. It's one of the most epic sport events there is, on par with stuff like the Tour de France. 200 km on natural ice, on lakes and canals (not roads). It takes all day. There's both race competitors and more recreational participants to whom just finishing at all is (understandably) a massive victory (the current Dutch king participated incognito in 1986 when he was 18; pretty badass). The racers start at dawn, the last recreational participants finish after dusk.

[@pliashmuldba]

They also pole vault their canals.

[@DenUitvreter]

Indeed. He's probably interested in 'Fierljeppen' video's too.

[@Linda-hs1lk]

There are many skate races, sadly hardly on natural ice. But when this happens and when you win, you'll be known for the rest of your life here. When there's a race like this (and you only see a part here, there are thousands of people on that ice, most in normal clothes, they only showed the 'professionals' here, we get up early and see the start. I remember we had a tv at work so we could follow the tour all day.

[@Rogier7305]

If you win it, you are a sort of national hero forever.

[@ritchiesiepman5511]

You should react to some Dutch Rally events. Even though the cars don't go as fast as a WRC event, but the cars are pretty diverse

[@petebeatminister]

Yeah, the Dutch and their ice skating... their are totally crazy for that. If you look at the speed skating elite at the Olimpics or world championships, its mainly dutch athletes. But the 200 km run is totally insane, its kindo of a ice iron man run. This is held on the canals the have plenty of, to drain the water out of the low lands. But as many winter sports, it is getting more and more difficult in recent years, as winters are milder as they used to be. To have a minimum of 15cm ice on all canals it takes at least 2 weeks of severe frost, something that has become rare in the past 20 or so years in Europe.

[@stephaniechbakingtraveler4262]

In the netherlands it is just normal to have a speed skating race in a frozen canals and rivers i think. They are dominating this kind of sport internationally.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

Not anymore. We haven't had a proper winter with prolonged freezing for decades. That's why the previous edition of this race was held in 1997! We do, however, also have many ice skating rings throughout the country.

[@janemcdonald5372]

I'm curious to know if they were using clap skates in the 1997 race or standard speed skates?

[@jooproos6559]

Its all on ICE!!No roads!!We have lots off canals to skate on..

[@jaccohoutekamer3483]

If you think skating 120 miles is crazy, Maarten van der Weijden swam the elfstedentocht to raise money for cancer research.

[@boretti1307]

I doubt if there is any sports event in the US that turns the entire nation in such a crazyness as the Elfstedentocht. OK beating the German National Footballteam is quite a thing, just like Max Verstappen winning the F1, but nothing comes close to the Elfstedentocht!

[@Bowwow30]

As from 6:19 you see how fast they are skating. And not as a sprint race, but as a marathon. For 6h long. And as you noticed correctly: at the end they push really hard, like a sprinter. After skating a maraton of 200 km/120 mi !! It's an extraodinary accomplishement. Do you know our crown prince (now our king) skated the Elfstedentocht too? All by himself, no royal helpers or what so ever. He took part under a pseudonym and because of the thick clothes, hardly anyone recognised him. Isn't that cool?

[@DenUitvreter]

There's actually a great film on the Dutch skating fever on YT called "Als het kan, dan moet het". Unfortunately it's not subtitled in English but the title says it all: "If we can, we must".

[@broekiepowervandenbroek4362]

An interesting video might be eleven cities tour 1985 in wich you see the run up and parts from the event itself from 1985 in wich they also talk a bit about it

[@Plankmans]

There will be never a Elfstedentocht again. The winters here in The Netherlands, the suck.

[@Kereltien]

Hey this is cool this is where we live My wife and I have done the cycling Elfstedentocht 4 times now. That's 235 km in one day. Route takes you along de 11 city's but it's has a different start city than the skate version witch is much more special because the weather must be just right and then even the boats and ships are not allowed in the route.

[@herb6677]

I would like to know, if there are also some sluices on the way that one has to master.

[@hansabbekerk2208]

@@herb6677 Yes there are. And some bad patches in the ice where you have to walk with your skates on, that is called "klunen". They have laid down mats or straw.

[@herb6677]

@@hansabbekerk2208 thanx

[@michieldame701]

Add the fun fact of the average speed of the winning group, roughly 20 mph over the 120 miles. add to that the this includes a mad dash Run to the Ice after the start and then first getting those skates on quickly but well, they will have to help you along till the end. Then they have to stop briefly to get a stamp in each of the 11 cities as proof...

[@esthervaneijk4586]

If you want to see how a race is done from beginning to end, there is a video from the 1985 tour.

[@dogegamer3288]

It's called tour skating or marathon speed skating. There is another form of it using different equipment and skates called nordic skating. This sport has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. It came out of just basic transportation in Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. If you win that race in the Netherlands you will be like Tom Brady, or Michael Jordan type fame forever more.

[@keessturm2804]

These are the competition skaters, the real heroes are the amateur tourskaters they skate for more then 10 hours some start and finish in the dark.

[@mvdh877]

5:46 maybe it looks to you like a road,but it is all water

[@wdubbelo]

the eleven cities tour 1985 is a documentary about the race is in 1985 it explains everything in english you can find it easily on youtube

[@tombchaser]

We had a singeltocht (canal tour) in our city that winter, i still got the medal for completing it somewhere. My mom forced my brothers to take my 9 year old ass with them (some friends and cousins also came along). She only witnessed it before once and she was to young back then to participate and this time she couldnt because of the screws in her ankle. She was right about the part i might never get such chance again because i never witnessed another winter like that one. The waters around us were frozen solid (with the fish frozen in it), almost no fish survived that winter. You had to hold your breath while passing the waters on ur way to school after the ice was gone (hundreds of dead fish on the surface), glad my school wasnt next water like some other nearby schools.

[@anniehope8651]

Personally I think it's only going to happen anytime soon if they decide to do the race for fewer people. Maybe the professionals only. Because the greatest problem is all those thousands of people on the ice, which has to hold at least till midnight. It needs to be super strong. If you only let the professionals ride, it doesn't have to be that strong. That way it could have been done in 2012. I understand that the charm of the event is that all these people can take part, but now we have a whole generation of professional skaters who never got the chance to ride the Elfstedentocht. They trained their whole lives and never got to ride. At least let them skate. That way we can have a few more Elfstedentochten before it's really over and we have to wait till the next ice age.

[@jwvhvt]

In speed skating, this is THE race that counts! If during the olympics coincidentally the weather conditions are so, that this race can be healt, every olympic speed skater would leave the olympics to do this race!

[@MrPassy4u]

Every time in the Netherlands, when it gets -1 temperature...... It giet oan! Yes every year, but the 11 city speed skating happens only ???? 20 years?

[@boredutopia]

when i lived in nederland i actually watched one race live, but it was not on canals, ice was not tick enough... it kinda looks spooky when you look from distance, coz dutches are tall, really tall and in these slick suits with heltmes and skates, waving their arms and legs it looks like watching something out of this world. coz from distance it almost looks like aliens, coz of their height and body seems slim in those suits.. and they can go really fast. like literlay zoom, you see it and its gone..

[@groenekever]

I was 13 at that time. Seen it on tv. There a movie made from the 1963 one called the hell of 63

[@dantealighieri9540]

I (being Dutch) am missing the Friese Elfstedentocht very much. Every time we have temperatures below zero (Celsius) the Elfsteden fever becomes alive in the Netherlands. :-)

[@walingsijtsma1204]

Back in 1997 i was at the finish when this was filmed

[@fnglert]

The Elfstedentocht (eleven city tour) is a legendary Dutch ice skating race over 120 miles. It's run on natural ice, hence why with global warming we haven't had one in a long time. It's not 120 miles of continuous ice skating, in some places they have to 'walk' a bit with their skates on when the ice is too thin or they have to cross a road or something.

[@resi3794]

Its a national fever, when it freeze the fever for this comes up in every single dutch person. Its unique, its the most epic race on ice there is in the world. scated over little rivers to 11 citys. Even our king scated 1 and got to the finsch .

[@gerbentvandeveen]

I just watched 1985 and 1986 live on TV at Opa and Oma ter Haar. She lived across from the school my twin brother and I went to.

[@JacobBax]

I have seen the 1997 race while painting the walls and sealing of a friends house, so it took a long time. And I made sure that my employer knew that I was taking a day off when the Elfstedentocht would be ridden, so 1997 was the last one.

[@janwillemnl]

Van bentum is now a america farmer now

[@bobsnabby2298]

You have no idea how big of an event this is for the dutch people, winning this is more important than Olympic gold medal. Sadly there is natural ice no more in the Netherlands.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I think Sweden has something similar long distance on ski's.

[@fnaaijkens69]

In NL, there's a lot of farmers' land, and they all have levies and canals or course, this being The Netherlands. So, in winter, they can freeze over, giving you a quite a lot of icey roads all of a sudden... The wheather is IDEAL for split-pie soup. ("Erwten Soup" or "Snert") Nice soal-warming hearty food for the winter... Recommended if you like your balls freezing off. Hahahaha 🙂 Heroes are made here.

[@mrampaart1672]

its all open water there are no roads in this 11city trail if they have to go to a new section of water its paved with cloth so they have to "walk" to the next open water river. That's why its not every year, it has all, so all the waters have to be frozen over (for a min. of......centimeter) to hold up over 10.000 at the start.

[@pasmoi4233]

look for 24 hours Le Mans ... roller-skating you'll find even more serious stuff

[@vinniamsterdam700]

The real crazy part is the start, it's early morning in the dark and they first have to run about a mile, then put on their skates and then skate off into the pitch black.

[@meeuwtje]

Yep, that's our "Elfstedentocht". The sporthappening in winter, if the ice is thick enough. In summer we have another sporthappening. De Vierdaagse. Walking 50 km 4 days in a row. This video explaines the hype (Englisch subtitels) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpa8fKCCpdqkkK8

[@carstenhuitsingh2239]

You have two groups in this, you have the pro skaters and the recreationists. The pro skaters do this a couple of times a year, but they do it on ice rinks. They start first and recreationists start one hour later. This is majority of the skaters. Pro skaters can do it in about six hours, weather and ice not withstanding. Recreationists can go up to 18 hours and some of them never make it to the finish line. You get a stamp in all the 11 villages and with those 11 stamps and when you cross the finish line before midnight you get a pin het elfstedenkruisje.

[@marcsanty5434]

look the moustache hanging ice on it

[@marcsanty5434]

yeeeeeee. becouse warm , no more ice , this is 11 torcht great race

[@KR-ch5di]

I video I suggest you react to is HONDA F1 V12 SOUND it's a startup and a few demo laps of a 1991 McLaren mp4/6 and in my opinion it puts any other f1 car to shame

[@marinusdekker6707]

The Elfstedentocht is the largest skating event in the world. More than fifteen thousand skaters brave the cold and make their way across the ice, cheered on by hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans. The waterways between the eleven Frisian cities form the 235-kilometre route of the Elfstedentocht. Therefore, this sensational skating event can only be held during very harsh winters. History of the Elfstedentocht In 1890, a group of one hundred men and women took on the challenge of skating past all Frisian cities in one day. The trip was a success and a new skating event was born. Since then, the Elfstedentocht has taken place fifteen times. Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, has traditionally been the starting and finishing point. The other ten cities through which the Elfstedentocht will pass are Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker and Dokkum before returning to Leeuwarden. The finish of the race is a windmill, De Bullemolen. The last times the Elfstedentocht took place were in 1985, 1986 and 1997. In 1986 the Dutch King also skated under the name W.A. from neighbours. The fastest time ever was set by Dutch professional skater Evert van Benthem in 1985. He completed the 235 kilometers in 6 hours and 47 minutes. The last trip took place in 1997 and was a great event that attracted an estimated two million people and about 2000 journalists from all over the world to Friesland. The race drivers leave at 05:15. At 5:40 the first tour riders. There is also a move about this, its called (de hel van '63) the hell of '63 in that year it was extremely cold.

[@DrDre-ir4gu]

Did somebody told Ian what “Klunen” is at the skate race of eleven cities?

[@iliasezzahiri1899]

All of this is on rivers and canals, some of them just look like roads

[@michaelcliffe562]

Check out Dutch DAF car racing. DAF also used to make cars that had variomatic gear boxes which gave them the ability to REVERSE at max speed! Obviously the Dutch had to create a whacky and dangerous race series where these ugly little cars all race in reverse at 100 kmh. Total carnage!!!

[@dragonix3704]

Elf steden, means eleven cities

[@albertbreetveld4872]

YES M8 SEE THE RACE OF 1963 WAS DANG COLD

[@aliveldwijk-cornelissen6160]

Its. Or alone a race but also for normal cooks there want to got the KRO’s from Elfstedentocht.

[@robkoosh]

Ever heard of Megavalanche?

[@dannykustersautomotive5102]

De elf steden tocht

[@marijkie9205]

I am for a quart frisian and I hope I will experience this event in the future but I don't think that will happen😔Even our king participate under a false name😱

[@dutchman7623]

An alternative name, his first names are Willem Alexander, which were abbreviated to W.A., and among the titles he holds there is 'Lord van Buren'. So his name was W.A. van Buren. All this not to draw too much attention before the start. His participation was only announced when it looked sure he would finish, (his bodyguards would have dragged him over the finish if needed).

[@ChaufMT]

A few years ago, a guy swam the whole route. In one trip.

[@-sandman4605]

😎

[@saskiapanter]

I wish we could have one again. But ah well climate change stops that. Ive watched the ones in the 80s and 90s on tv. One in the 80s, I was sick that week, so I watched it with my mom, while snow was falling outside. It was a nice distraction from me being sick. It was on tv all day. Loved it

[@raisan5989]

Maarten van der Weijden swam the 11 city tour in 2019 in 75 hours

[@magma1lord]

As a dutchie i saw the title, our flag and my instant reaction was. Wdym strange.