When Nina van Vlokhoven is with her grandfather Dorus (79) in Eindhoven, it is always about the Eleven Cities Tour. The tour he rode three times. “It is one of the most important things in his life,” Nina says in the Lekker Weekend program on Omroep Brabant radio. And although the last Tour of Tours was held 27 years ago, Grandpa Dorus still talks about it every day. And that actually also applies to neighbor Jos, with whom he rode the tours.
The two men share the love and passion for skating and especially for the Elfstedentocht. Reason for Nina to make a documentary about the two together with Niels Kamerbeek: ‘Our Tour’. The documentary premiered on Sunday at Omroep Brabant.
Due to his age, skating for Grandpa Dorus is no longer so easy. Running a perfect turn on the ice rink in Eindhoven or making a nice long push on the straight. Dorus would love to have it, but it is no longer possible. The memories of the three trips he rode together with Jos are all the more beautiful.
The two had one sacred motto, as they say in the documentary: ‘Out together, home together.’ When Dorus could hardly see anything during the last trip they took together because one of his eyes was frozen, he had to rely on Jos. He held on to his neighbor’s white backpack and they both reached the finish line on the Bonkevaart. Just after half past nine they received their last stamp, ‘well on time’.
“Will there ever be another Elfstedentocht? Only if a miracle happens in nature.”
Jos calls the magic of natural ice fantastic. When he sees Dorus, it is about only one thing: that last journey and especially those last kilometers in the dark. Will there ever be another Elfstedentocht? The men have a hard time about it. “Only when a miracle happens in nature,” says Dorus.
And whether Nina, who also started skating when she was little thanks to her grandfather’s enthusiasm, will participate in the Elfstedentocht? “We’ll see about that. But I’m also afraid that it will never happen again,” she says with some nostalgia. Fortunately, she still has her grandfather’s stories. And this now also applies to Niels, with whom she made the documentary.
“It didn’t bother me,” says Niels. “But since I met Nina and I also visit her grandfather, I only hear about the Elfstedentocht. He talks about it with so much love and passion.” That’s why he thought the documentary had to be made. “Precisely because our generation has never experienced the journey,” Nina adds.
Curious about the story of Dorus and Jos, their friendship and their love for the Tour of Tours? The documentary ‘Our Tour’ has been available since Sunday via Brabant+.
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