The Eleven Cities Cycling Tour (, West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht op de fyts'') was originally a

bicycle race "Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song " Fat Bottomed Girls", re ...

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In recent years, due to the number of participants, it has become a bicycle tour. It is the cycling counterpart of the

Elfstedentocht The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English language, English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating com ...

ice-skating tour which is held irregularly on frozen waterways in the same region. The event attracts annually more than 15,000 participants and is considered one of the best cycle tours in the Netherlands.

History

Due to the popularity of the Eleven Cities Skating tour, a similar tour was hosted for cyclists in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1912 the first cycling tour was organised. It started out as a competition, and was organised when the skating counterpart wasn't organised due to the weather. Since 1947, the tour has been organised annually on

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In ...

, a Dutch Bank holiday. Although the tour started out as a race, from 1958 it was hosted as a tour in order to prevent serious injuries. Due to popular interest by non-professional cyclist, and the sometimes less-ideal conditions of the road, it was considered to be too dangerous to race. To prevent enthusiasts from racing anyway, participants are to keep in mind a maximum average speed of 25 km/h between check points.

Route

The cycling tour's route differs from its counterpart on skates: the cycling tour starts and ends in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on th ...

rather than in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

. The tour takes the participants through the eleven ancient cities of the province of Frisia. The tour is currently limited to 15,000 entrants. Between 05:00 and 08:00, entrants leave Bolsward every eight minutes in batches of 600 participants. Those who complete the 235 km tour before midnight are entitled to a medal.

Types of bicycles

While most participants use a

racing bicycle A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Racing bicycles are designed for maximum performance ...

, other types of bikes can be seen as well. A small percentage participates on tandem bicycles, European city bicycles both with and without gears,

rowing cycles A rowing cycle is a wheeled vehicle propelled by a rowing motion of the body. Steering, braking, and shifting are usually done by the handlebars. Feet are on symmetrical foot rests, as opposed to rotating pedals. Unlike many Watercraft rowing, rowi ...

and handcycles. Even

penny-farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds, owing to it travelling a large distance for every ro ...

s have been used for the tour.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Home page
Cycling in Friesland Bicycle tours Defunct cycling races in the Netherlands 1912 establishments in the Netherlands Recurring sporting events established in 1912