FILE - In this Jan. 4, 1997, file photo, skaters pass a windmill as some 16,000 people participate in the historic 200km skating spectacle the 'Elfstedentocht' (eleven-cities-course) in Birdaard, province of Friesland, northern Netherlands. There is nothing more mythical in Dutch sports than an age-old 11-city race skating across lakes and canals in bone-numbing cold from dawn to dusk. No wonder the Netherlands is the greatest speedskating nation in the world. And with Sven Kramer and Ireen Wust leading the way on big oval in Sochi they are bent on proving it again. (AP Photo/Dimitri Georganas, File)