Tour of 1963
The Toughest Tour in the History of the Frisian Elfstedentocht
The twelfth edition of the Elfstedentocht is the most discussed race in history. The harsh weather conditions, with strong winds, drifting snow, and low temperatures, combined with the poor quality of the ice, made it the toughest Elfstedentocht ever. Less than 1% of the participants managed to finish. Both Dutch and German radio and television covered this Elfstedentocht.
The race
The tracks were already very narrow from the start, which meant that the skaters had to ride in a long line for a long time. After the first 10 kilometres, a lead group of about forty skaters emerged. In Sneek, the first riders dropped out. By Sloten, the number of dropouts was uncountable. Most of them suffered from frozen eyes. The large lead group remained almost intact until Stavoren. By Hindeloopen, the group had been reduced to 23 riders. On the IJsselmeer (lake) heading towards Workum, debutant Paping made the first move. He built up a 100-metre lead. After Workum, he launched an attack with quick bursts, causing the lead group to split into smaller groups. Paping, Van den Berg, Verhoeven, and Uitham were the first to pass Bolsward. Between Schettens and Witmarsum, Paping took the lead alone. By Harlingen, his lead was already two minutes. Van den Berg had to let the other two go, but by Franeker, he had caught up with them again. Paping had a 10-minute lead.
At the Trijemolen junction, Paping suffered a setback but was supported by spectators along the route. With a warm jacket and a chocolate bar, he was ready to continue. On the way to Dokkum, Van den Berg and Uitham had to leave Verhoeven behind, who was overwhelmed by snow blindness. In Dokkum, the gap to Paping had reduced to just 9 minutes. The final kilometres were tough for Van den Berg and Uitham. With the help of the public, they managed to reach Leeuwarden at a slow pace. Paping had already stumbled over the finish line 20 minutes earlier.
At the Grote Wielen, a helicopter unexpectedly landed, carrying Queen Juliana and Princess Beatrix. The roads in the Netherlands were impassable, so the television crew never received the race footage in time in Bussum. Queen Juliana solved the problem by taking them in the helicopter to Soesterberg, and from there, the footage was delivered to Bussum by a courier.
