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Saturday 26 May RNW - NEWS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE NETHERLANDS IN 10 LANGUAGES, WORLDWIDE 24/7 ON RADIO, TV AND ONLINE
Eleven Cities Tour or Elfstedentocht

Eleven Cities Tour

The Eleven Cities Tour, or Elfstedentocht, is the world's largest speed skating event. Held on frozen canals, rivers and lakes that link 11 historic Frisian cities, the epic 200-km tour is a rare occurrence that grips the entire nation.

Video: I skate, therefore I am... Dutch!

Even though the Eleven Cities Skating Tour has been cancelled - or at least postponed - the Dutch have already been out skating on a massive scale. Some people have even taken time off from work, school or college to hit the ice. Over the...

Video: Cross-border skating still banned for Flemings

Skating fever has not only gripped the Dutch, their Flemish neighbours to the south have also been touched. Many canals in Belgium are frozen and skaters are flocking to the ice there too. But one canal, the Damme near Bruges, is still off...

Article: Press Review Wednesday 8 February 2012

Skating-marathon madness continues to dominate the Dutch press, but there’s a big euro-crisis story around as well. Internet piracy is put under the spotlight and a court gives a fillip to a football hero’s fight.

Video: The skating tour of 1985 caught on film

The 1985 Eleven Cities Tour race was won by Evert van Benthem. Radio Netherlands Television (RNTV) reported the event in a 30-minute documentary, produced for the international market. The commentary is by Tom Meijer, a RNW radio star of...

Video: The good, the bad and the icy

It finally looks and feels like winter in the Netherlands and this past week's cold weather has seen thousands of Dutch people enjoying the snow and ice. The Dutch are fervently hoping the famous Eleven Cities Tour ice skating marathon...

Video: Ready to hit the ice

The arrival of the season’s first extended period of cold weather has many people in the Netherlands excited about the chance to go ice skating. Many of the pumping stations around the country have been cut off and boats have been...

Video: Will the Eleven Cities Tour finally take place?

The ice on the Dutch lakes and waterways is getting thicker. The first races on natural ice have already been held. But there is one race which all skaters dream about: the Eleven Cities Tour. Will the 200-kilometre race really take place...

Article: Dutch hope for marathon skating tour

With the continuing sub-zero temperatures, people in the Netherlands are beginning to be gripped by skating fever. A number of marathon skating events have already been held in the great outdoors.

Still from The Hell of '63
Netherlands Netherlands Article: The Hell of '63

Article: The Hell of '63

Cold, misery and frozen limbs. The Eleven Cities Skating Race of 1963 is the subject of the latest Dutch disaster movie, The Hell of '63. This winter, skating fever has started early in the Netherlands.  

Video highlights

Cross-border skating still banned for Flemings
Skating fever has not only gripped the Dutch, their Flemish neighbours to...
The skating tour of 1985 caught on film
The 1985 Eleven Cities Tour race was won by Evert van Benthem. Radio...
The good, the bad and the icy
It finally looks and feels like winter in the Netherlands and this past...
Ready to hit the ice
The arrival of the season’s first extended period of cold weather has...
RNW - News and analysis from the Netherlands in 10 languages, worldwide 24/7 on radio, television and online