Tour of 1986

The Elfstedentocht was raced later in the season than ever before. Over 17,000 participants lined up at the start of the fourteenth race on February 26. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander participated under the alias W.A. van Buren. At the finish, he was greeted by his proud parents.

The race

The start of the race went perfectly. The leading group rode at a fast pace toward Sneek. In Sneek, Jan Jonker and Evert van Benthem passed as numbers 1 and 3. They would later take control of the race. Just before Stavoren, Hans Bouma, Wout de Vries, Marten Hoekstra, and Jan Kooiman broke away. By Hindelopen, they had a four-minute lead, which grew to over five minutes in Bolsward, thanks to Kooiman's efforts at the front. Shortly after Bolsward, Van Benthem launched an attack, with much of the peloton following him. By Harlingen, the gap to the leading group had significantly decreased. Just before Franeker, Van Benthem and Jonker joined the front group, which now consisted of 10 riders. Between Franeker and Berlikum, Van Benthem took the lead. The other nine riders waited, allowing Van Benthem to gain a lead. Jonker began chasing. By Bartlehiem, Van Benthem had a 50-second lead. Jonker joined him at Sijbrandahuis.

Just before Dokkum, Jonker launched an attack and took the lead. However, Van Benthem soon caught up with Jonker. After Jonker fell due to a crack in the ice, he was overtaken by Van Benthem again at the bridge near Dokkumer Ee and stamped in first at Dokkum. At Bartlehiem, Van Benthem decisively overtook Jonker. A sprint caused Jonker to fall behind, and he couldn't close the gap. Van Benthem won the Elfstedentocht for the second consecutive year. Jonker finished 1 minute and 7 seconds later. Robert Kamperman claimed third place.

Tineke Dijkshoorn-Olsthoorn was the first woman to reach the finish.