Dutch top skaters hope for new Elfstedentocht

The Dutch top marathon skaters were participating at the National Championships on natural ice in Emmen on Wednesday, but with their minds they were partly in Friesland, thinking of a possible Elfstedentocht. A date for the most famous Dutch skating tour over 200 kilometers on frozen canals, rivers and lakes between the eleven historic Frisian cities has not been set yet, but thanks to the lasting frost period, the tour is getting closer. However, the ice on parts of the track is still not thick enough, because to organize the Elfstedentocht and hold all the people the ice has to be 15 centimeters thick. The tour is not held every year, mostly because not every Dutch winter permits skating on natural ice. The last editions were in 1985, 1986 and 1997."Unconsciously I was thinking of it," said Dutch women's champion Yvonne Spigt to Xinhua. "But there are still more races to come. We'll see. If it remains freezing and the ice is thick enough, who knows."In January Carla Zielman won the alternative Elfstedentocht on the Austrian Weissensee lake. She finished third at the national championships on Wednesday. "I hope the Elfstedentocht is coming," she said. "I did not expect it to happen this winter, but suddenly it started freezing. In Austria I have proven that I can win a trip over 200km. You need a little luck."The new Dutch male champion Jorrit Bergsma refused to call himself a favorite for a possible Elfstedentocht."I never rode the tour before. It also depends on the quality of the ice and sometimes you even have to walk on skates. If it comes I must be ready," he said.The last Elfstedentocht was won by Henk Angenent in 1997.