The Eleven Cities tour (Elfstedentocht in Dutch) is a speed skating tour (with 200 contestants) and a leisure skating tour (with 16,000 skaters) of almost 200 kilometres. It is held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. Is is a tour along the eleven cities of the province.
The Eleven Cities tour is held when the natural ice along the entire course is at least 15 centimetres thick. Sadly winters are not that cold anymore, so the last time that the Eleven Cities tour was organised was in 1997. Before that year the last tour was organised in 1963.
After a few very cold weeks in the start of 2012 the Dutch society hopes feverish that the tour will finally happen again. The American TV channel ABC wants research to be done to be prepared to cover this traditional and picturesque story.
In the end at a late press conference it is announced that the race will not be held because the ice is not thick enough and the thaw will set in too early.