Noël De Clercq (Mater-Oudenaarde) owns with Olympic 005 the 1st Olympiad Pigeon Belgium long distance and the 2nd ace pigeon extreme long distance K.B.D.B.
23 Mar 2026
It has been several years since we visited Noël in Mater when he achieved a top result on an extreme long-distance race… and we almost euphorically reflected on the view this family has from the front of their home. From Mater, in the hills of the Flemish Ardennes, they overlook the ’t Ename forest, the Scheldt valley and the Oudenaarde region. If landscape painter Valerius De Saedeleer were still alive, he would undoubtedly have set up his easel and palette in Noël and Chantal’s front garden and painted this beautiful scenery. Has much changed in recent years? The ’t Ename forest has grown even larger as a nature reserve, it is inhabited by more animals that feel at home in this habitat, Noël’s hair has become a bit greyer, life is still good there and a new crack pigeon has emerged in Noël’s lofts.
Noël (78 years young), his wife Chantal and, for several years now, grandson Thibo (who has started on his own with pigeons in recent years), and by extension the whole family, are fully enjoying what happened to them in the past season. But they remain very grounded, can put everything into perspective, and above all enjoy the beautiful emotions that pigeon racing has brought them in all simplicity.
At the home of a true extreme long-distance enthusiast and hobbyist.
Like many things in our society, pigeon racing is also evolving at a rapid pace. Take the riders in the cycling peloton, they are getting younger at the top, they ride at higher average speeds, they use better equipment… and they burn out faster. An image that can be extended to our entire society. A phenomenon we also see in pigeon racing. Is this better? No, it is simply different and fortunately we still have the freedom to practice our hobby largely as we wish. Everything evolves, we evolve along with it or partially with it. Noël is still a true hobbyist and lover of extreme long-distance racing… and this in his own familiar way. He does not allow unnecessary obligations to be imposed on him and follows his own trusted approach, which has proven its usefulness and success in the past. He does not feel the need to appear at the start with a large team, he believes in quality and enjoying his hobby. He once started in middle distance but was soon bitten by the bug of long-distance racing. In the Mater region and more broadly the Flemish Ardennes, there were quite a few renowned lofts at that time. The long-distance fanciers from Ronse (Delbar, Vinois, Van Roy, Carteus…), the Santens from Oudenaarde, the Vandenhaesevelde and Van de Vijvers from Mater, not to mention the long-distance players from the Zottegem area, etc.… a lot of strong names when it came to distance racing. These names have disappeared from the scene but others have taken their place and in many cases these lofts were based on the pigeons from those lines. The same applies to Noël. In the early phase these were pigeons from the Vandenhaesevelde brothers, via his father-in-law the Willequets, a super hen from Max De Groote from Welden and later the pigeons of his friend and neighbour Wilfried Bruyneel. Wilfried’s colony was mainly based on the super pigeons of Georges Carteus, Brockamp, with a touch of Etienne Devos, Chris Hebberecht, Marcel Vandenabeele. There was cooperation with Wilfried, breeding together, exchanging birds. From these well-known and proven pigeons, Noël bred a limited but high-quality team that easily reached the national and international top. It is infectious to listen to Noël explain how he cares for the pigeons daily and prepares them for races. It can be that simple and straightforward.
Quality and time to mature.
Where in many lofts there is no longer space, time or patience to let pigeons fully develop, this is not the case here. By eliminating certain things, it remains a pure enjoyment hobby. The focus is on extreme long distance, period. No pressure to participate in other races. The pigeons that compete seriously are at least 2 years old and only cocks are raced on widowhood. The breeding loft (about 12 pairs) consists only of pigeons with this objective. It is important to mention that Noël decided last year to no longer keep young pigeons. He made this decision because he wanted to gradually scale down and support his grandson Thibo (18 years old), who is now also focusing on long distance and extreme long distance. Thibo lives with his parents in Sint-Blasius-Boekel (Zwalm) and the young pigeons now go there to continue the family tradition. In the past, two lofts of 12 widowhood cocks were filled with pigeons of 2 years and older. Additionally, 15 to 20 yearlings were kept in another loft. These yearlings usually flew a few heavy middle-distance races (up to 600 km) and those that passed selection were integrated into the old bird team. Each year about 50 young pigeons were weaned. That was the past, the future lies for a few more years with Noël and the old pigeons, and with Thibo for loft NoëlDC2.0. Young pigeons were bred from Candlemas and flew a couple of Noyon races in their birth year. Time to mature, to grow and to reach full strength. An approach now sometimes labeled old-school, but still proving its value. The racing pigeons do not breed before the season (though they may after the season) and are paired for a few days to make training easier. Training is once daily at the beginning and from May twice daily. The old pigeons fly a few middle-distance and two heavy middle-distance races (Bourges, Châteauroux…) before going to Pau and other races. Occasionally they are also entered in the first national Limoges race when it appears to be a normal race. Then, depending on the season, the old pigeons fly 2 or 3 extreme long-distance races. With this method, selection happens naturally during the season and Noël hardly needs to intervene. They can handle it or they cannot… it is that simple. The pigeons are given several chances though. The strain consists of pigeons that mature slowly and therefore require patience. The system for yearlings is very simple. They fly Noyon a few times as youngsters, then move to middle distance and normally fly about 3 heavy middle-distance races and sometimes a Tulle. Flying national races allows them to find their way in large releases and from the age of 2 they are ready for the real heavy work.
Simple and good care.
There are few frills in Noël’s care system. The lofts are garden lofts but elevated, dry and healthy. They are south-facing and get plenty of sun. The breeding pigeons and hens are housed on the ground floor under the racing lofts. There is almost always clean wheat straw on the floor. The pigeons find this very comfortable, it naturally regulates temperature and makes maintenance easier. A method that has certainly proven its value. No feathers are pulled, no darkening or artificial lighting. When asked about adjusting roof ventilation according to weather, the answer is as expected: “they haven’t been changed for years, and the really good ones don’t suffer from it,” Noël smiles. The feed is Gerry Plus as base and Marathon from Versele-Laga. In the last 4 to 5 feedings before basketing, the ratio is adjusted towards pure Marathon. Before basketing the pigeons receive 2 days of Dextrotonic in the water and electrolytes upon return. Regularly a splash of apple vinegar is added as intestinal conditioner. Apart from mandatory vaccinations, the vet is only consulted occasionally. A light treatment against trichomonas is usually sufficient, and two weeks before major races a short treatment is given for respiratory issues. At basketing, the hen is half-confined to make handling easier, but they do not see their partner for long.
“Let us name you Olympic 005!”
The dark chequer cock with ring number BE19-4002005 was first called 005 after his strong performances, but after his Olympiad title he was officially renamed Olympic 005. He is a medium-sized pigeon, not big, with strong muscles, soft feathers and a well-pigmented eye. A very beautiful pigeon. Also a bit nervous. He had the privilege to develop calmly in his youth. Little or no racing as a youngster, then normal races up to 500 km as a yearling. He was only tested on extreme long distance at 3 years old. That extra year proved beneficial. Out of 10 extreme long-distance races, he missed only one. After that he was present 9 times, often very early in the results. With as highlights 2nd national ace pigeon and 1st Belgian Olympiad pigeon. Noël also added that in Perpignan 2026 the 005 lost time on arrival for the first time. He circled the house a few times before entering. Was it the joy of returning or satisfaction of the performance? No one will know. The difference with the first ace pigeon was very small. Such is life… His record remains outstanding. The CV of Olympic 005 looks impressive.
2022: St-Vincent – enige misser in zijn loopbaan
Perpignan: lok: 16 / 253 / prov: 62 / 884 / nat : 185/ 3766
2023: Pau : lok: 14 / 97 / prov: 133 / 822 / nat: 440 / 3080
St-Vincent : lok: 9 / 104 / prov: 65 / 777 / nat: 176 / 2853
Perpignan: lok: 59/ 271 / prov: 133 / 1334 / nat: 1325 / 5722
2024: Pau: lok: 4 / 103 / prov: 36 / 939 / nat: 117 / 3368
Dax : lok: 10/ 103 / prov: 65 / 598 / nat: 272 / 2575
Perpignan: lok: 7/ 237 / prov: 28 / 1194 / nat: 69 / 4850
2025: Pau: lok: 1 / 108 / prov: 2 / 802 / nat: 5 / 3028
Dax : lok: 17 / 156 / prov: 78 / 993 / nat: 309 / 3998
Perpignan: lok: 1/ 117 / prov: 4/ 847 / nat: 15 / 3522
Although Noël’s colony has always been relatively small, many top results were achieved.
2019 2de nationaal Narbonne
1ste op 2 jaars klassement Narbonne
10de nationaal St Vincent
2022 3de nationaal St-Vincent
2024 117de nationaal Pau(005)
69ste nationaal Perpignan(005)
2025 5de nationaal Pau (005)
15de nationaal Perpignan(005)
2de nationale asduif marathon(005)
1ste provinciale asduif marathon(005)
4de world best pigeon (005)
1ste olympiade duif van Belgie (16de van de wereld(005)).
He never placed much importance on documenting everything in detail. The hobby comes first. We end with emotion. Noël says: “when he came home from Perpignan, I turned pale with emotion.” Isn’t that the true goal of a hobby?
Congratulations from the Herbots team!
Geert Dhaenens
