24 februari 2025, Luleå, Sweden
(for the photo’s per event, scroll down)
When it is starting to get cold in the Netherlands, a rare phenomenon occurs called ‘schaatskoorts’. Translated to English, its called ‘speed skating fever’. The Dutch love to skate on their canals and frozen lakes. It’s a special time, people seem to get nicer to each other, helping another, and everyone is just having a great time. A time to savour, since it’s becoming more and more rare.
about 70 years ago, in 1963, the winter was harsh. With several days in a row where the temperature dropped below -15 degrees celcius. The ice on the biggest lake of the country was 80 cm’s thick, there was even a car route over it. The infamous Elfstedentocht was held on january 18th. It was one of the most mythical and heroic editions of the race. Only 10% of the competition riders who started the race, managed to finish. and of the 9294 non competitive riders, only 69 (less then 1%) managed to get to the finish.
As a dutchman myself, this seems like something surreal. I was born in 2002, so in my lifetime there was never an Elfstedentocht. Let alone a car road on ice. I spent most my winters looking forward to those few days a year we can hit the ice. But for the people in Luleå, Sweden, these scenes are nothing but normal. -15º would not even be considered that cold.
Professional racing
And so, with that in mind, once a year a whole delegation of Dutch people get on a plane and fly to Luleå. They come here to race. They put on their skates, and battle it out on the thick ice of the baltic sea.
Where in the Netherlands the ice days are rare and we’re in the longest period ever without our beloved Elfstedentocht, in Sweden we find the ice we so long for. There’s 3 races here, with the final one being the longest. Some years it is 150 km’s, other years it’s 200 kilometers. This year it was 200. During another speedskating event in Austria, the ice wasnt good enough to race the 200 there.
It was a cold windy day. with temperatures below zero. The race was tough with many riders not reaching the finish line. The ice is relentless. If you fall, its hard and if the wind is in your face, you’ll have to fight to get forward. The 200 kilometers is a mythical distance. It’s the same distance as the Elfstedentocht. For these riders, their career is complete if they manage to win this race. This is The Epitome of the marathon speedskating sport. Well, in lack of the real thing ofcourse.
A personal challenge
But it’s not just the pro’s who come here. The die hard non competitive skaters also know to find the ice here. The 200 kilometers also lives within them. There’s more to it then just skating. For many it’s a dream to make true. It’s also more then just sore legs. It’s a mental thing. It might be mentally tougher then the real Elfstedentocht. Since here, its a loop of 7 kilometers. There’s no people on the sides of the ice cheering you on. Your family is at home, two THOUSAND kilometers from here. It’s just you, the ice and your skates.
in the early cold moring after about an hour on the ice, something special happens. Some men grow their beards out on purpose specifically for this occurrence. Because when the conditions are cold enough, their beards freeze. The warm moist air they breath out, gets caught in the hairs and freeze. Those who aren’t wearing glasses get white eyelashes and some people even get icicles on their noses.
Still those who start this ferocious challenge, seem to be unbreakable. They did not fly all this way, train for months maybe years to not finish. When they stand on the ice in the early morning, before the sun has even shown its light, they don’t know what the day will bring. But they’re all determined to finish this challenge. They will conquer the mythical two hundred kilometers.
Skate4Air: Charity
And then there’s charity. Each year a group of skaters come to this same ice, to skate and raise funds for research into cystic fybrosis. This charity event is called Skate4Air. And these skaters are some tough nuts to crack. From old Olympic champions to people who can barely skate at all, they all start with one goal. Raise money.
This event has two “distances”. A 200 km, There it is again, that mythical 200. And a “daylight challenge”. Which is skating from sunrise to sunset. A long day on the ice, and not for the weak minded. All these people have a story, a reason to skate. And so, they power through. When their feet hurt, when they really can’t go another lap, there’s always someone who can get them back up, and so at sunset, everyone crosses the line together. A special and emotional moment.