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Explore Harlaam, a medieval city not
far from Amsterdam, and a center of
Dutch baseball. Experience
windmills, sailboats, flower fields
and ancient buildings as you ride on
some of Holland’s thousands of
bicycle trails.
Holland Sports
Many athletes are living here or are
using the many sport facilities for
their training.
Legendary athletes from Amsterdam:
- Rik Smits, former center for
the Indiana Pacers
- Arie Luyendyk, Indianapolis
500 winner
- Marco van Basten, 3-time
European Footballer of the Year
- Ron Zwerver, Olympic
volleyball champion
Baseball: The Netherlands
also boasts the most successful
national baseball team in Europe.
They’ve won the European Baseball
Championship nineteen times and
often represent Europe in
international competitions such as
the World Baseball Classic and the
Baseball World Cup. Shairon Martis
pitched the first World Baseball
Classic no-hitter in 2006.
Cycling: The Netherlands
could fairly be called “the land of
bicycles.” Around 15 million Dutch
people (out of a population of 16
million!) regularly travel by
bicycle. The Dutch government’s
“bicycle master plan” encourages
people to shift from cars to
bicycles to help safeguard the
environment
Soccer: Millions of Dutch men
and women spend Sunday nights in
front of the television watching
football. Many Dutch players play on
the top European teams, such as
Arjen Robbe (Chelsea London), Robin
van Persie (Arsenal London), and Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid).
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