Marc Verherstraeten wins 1st Provincial Perpignan Antwerp against 567 old birds

Lille - Marc Verherstraeten from Lille put in an impressive performance by winning the first provincial prize on the international flight from Perpignan, province of Antwerp. His hen fell on Monday evening around 21h39 with an average speed of 1074.80 m/m, triumphing against 567 old birds. Nationally, she finished in 22nd place against a field of 4,850 old birds. On the Perpignan flight, Marc even clocked his three first signed pigeons on Tuesday morning, but actually his entire racing team did fine with 8 prizes out of 9 pigeons nationally.

The ease of PAS

Marc is overjoyed with this victory and stresses the importance of his Bricon PAS system. Without this system, he would probably have missed out on the win as he was busy moving another nest when his pigeon arrived. While distracted, he received a phone call from his friend Wim Van Thielen congratulating him on the first provincial place. To his surprise, Marc discovered that his hen had hidden in a place where he could not directly see her from outside the loft.

Pedigree

The winning hen is descended from the best of Marc's loft. Her sire is ‘De Zwarte 823/15’, a descendant of Ko Van Dommelen, and also sire of ‘Sanneke Barcelona’, the 2019 Bronze Wing winner. Her mother from at Desbuquois Michel & Didier and has an impressive pedigree including ‘Romulus x Maxime’ (Primus Interparis Barcelona 2007-2011 by Desbuquois Michel & Didier) as mother and ‘Joost’ (1st International Perpignan winner of 2003 by Desmeyter-Restiaen) as grandfather.

Other Results BE20-6048347

The winning hen has gathered an impressive record, proving her to be a real all-round pigeon:
1st Provincial Perpignan against 567 pigeons
16th Argenton against 279 pigeons
68th Barcelona against 288 pigeons
87th Quievrain against 269 pigeons
139th Sermaises against 729 pigeons
382nd Melun against 1,283 pigeons
521st Nat. Z against 3,416 pigeons
2,404th Nat. Bourges against 24,006 pigeons

Pigeon Stock and Playing System

Marc starts each year with a team of 30 old pigeons and 60 yearlings. The youngsters that perform best are given a chance to prove themselves the following year. From the best old racers and about 20 breeding couples, young pigeons are raised every year. The pigeons are paired in January, after which they raise two rounds of youngsters. Marc's loft is made up of pigeons from top breeders such as Ko Van Dommelen, Erik Limbourg and Fons Van Ophuyzen.  

Marc's racing system focuses mainly on the long-distance and marathon races, although his pigeons also perform well on shorter distances. The old and yearling pigeons are carefully trained through a step-by-step plan, with flights of different distances as training for the big races such as Barcelona, Perpignan, Agen and Narbonne.

Training Schedule

Training is done in 3 steps (5,10 and 20km) to complete the following schedule:  
Old
2x Quiévrain 120km
1x Sermaises 370km
Bourges 500km
1x Quiévrain 120km 
Argenton 
Barcelona
Quiévrain 
Perpignan
Yearlings
2x Quiévrain 120km
1x Sermaises 370km
Bourges 500km
1x Quiévrain 120km 
Argenton 
Agen
1x Quiévrain 
Narbonne
Youngsters
The youngsters are reared and must fly 2 national races to gain experience.

Medical Policy and Nutrition

Marc relies on the medical expertise of his friend Kristof Mortelmans. Apart from the mandatory vaccinations and a tricho pill before the first national flight, as long as no problems arise, medical intervention is minimal.  

In terms of nutrition, Marc uses Beyers products, including Premium Super Widowhood, Galaxy Energy, and Galaxy Long Distance mixtures, supplemented with Belvimin supplements and extra Beyers candy seed.

Word of Thanks

Marc is particularly grateful for the support and advice of Erik Limbourg, as well as Jozef Devriendt from Aartijke, thanks to whom he obtained his stock pigeon Jeffke, a pigeon that still contributes to his successes.
Marc Verherstraeten's victory is a testament to his dedication, skill and the strong strain of his pigeons. 
Therefore Marc, congratulations from the whole Herbots team!

Maarten Herbots