Analyze Aurillac National

Last year, in parallel with St Vincent, we had Cahors which was only open to old birds. The numbers were very limited, 3,018 old. This year, Aurillac is not far from the 12,000 pigeons entered, with 11,854 pigeons. It seems that with the presence of the yearlings, the numbers are feeling the positive effects.

The pigeons were released at 8.30 a.m. with a temperature of 14°C and a light S.O. wind. The race was then run with a strong S.O. wind and a temperature slightly above 20°C.

Top 10 old nationals

1. 2. 6. K VAN ROMPAEY from St Trond, 1587,1601, 1586,2467 and 1564,2813 m

3. 7. N Broeckx from Oud-Turnhout, 1578,2615 and 1561,5521 m

4. D Tournelle de Rummen, 1577,5936 m

5. J Janssens de Eksel, 1573,8631 m

8. Team Hooymans.be de Mol, 1558.5644 m

9. Herbots J & R de Halle-Booienhoven, 1558.4215 m

10. P De Maeseneer from Denderwindeke, 1554.9633 m

Limburg, Antwerp and Flemish Brabant were all present in this high-speed competition. All the provinces made it into the top 100. With 85 prizes, Flanders came out on top, but with very different fortunes from one province to another. Flemish Brabant took 37 prizes, Limburg 24, Antwerp 16, East Flanders 7 and West Flanders just 1. In other words, the bulk of the troops came from the east and centre of the country. In the south of the country, Namur took 6 prizes, Hainaut 5, Brabant Wallon 2, Liège and Luxembourg 1.

Some amateurs like to place several pigeons in the top 100. This is the case of Kaier classified 12, 22, 35, 53, 78, 98, 100, D Tournelle 4, 29, 31, 34, 48, 79, E Limbourg 24, 44, 49, 72, 83, Herbots J & R 9, 25, 50, 88, 89, K Van Rompaey 1, 2, 6, 70... The only clear round in the top 100 is down to R Roggen classified 80 with his only entry.

The south of the country started with Thibaut-Boons 20, P Vanwezer 36, 55, JM Caro 42, JC Cornet 45...

First finishes by province and EPR

Limburg, K Van Rompaey from St Trond, 1587,1601 m, 1 national

Antwerp, N Broeckx from Oud-Turnhout, 1578.2615, 3 nationals

Flemish Brabant, D Tournelle de Rummen, 1577,5936 m, 4 nat.

East Flanders, P De Maeseneer de Denderwindeke, 1554,9633 m, 10 nat.

EPR LNL, Thibaut-Boons de Sombreffe "N", 1539,9204 m, 20 nat (JM Caro de Lambermont "Lg", 1526,2960 m, 42 nat and D Philippe de St Mard "Lx", 1511,2453 m, 65 nat)   

EPR HBW, JC Cornet de Soignies "H", 1524,3810 m, 45 nat (Sauvage-Duran de Bornival "BW", 1503,2530 m, 77 nat) 

West Flanders, C Debacker de Beveren-Leie, 1494,4119 m, 92 nat.

All the provinces start at around 1500 m, except West Flanders.

The zones in a few words

Zone A1, 266 old

Minimum numbers and pigeons opting to concentrate further east meant that the zone started outside the national top 100 with M Verhaeghe from Torhout taking the zone and ranking 202 national. Only the top 34 were present at the nationals.

B Jonckheere placed 3 pigeons in the top 10, i.e. 4, 5 and 10. On the Walloon side, we have P Troubat 12.

Zone A2, 1477 old

The zone ranks 5 pigeons in the top 100 including L Den Dooven from Mariakerke who is 51 national. The 14 last classified of the zone are not included in the national.

The top 100 is marked by a series of prizes for Van Gaver T & M ranked 2, 3, 9, 14, 33, 35, 39, 48, 81, 99, followed by D Deroose ranked 4, 40, 57, 58, Casaert-Sénéchal 7, 31, 73, 76, B Lefebre 11, 32, 61, 80...The south of the country starts with Casaert-Sénéchal ranked 7, T Masure 13, S Defoort 15, P Dubois 16, C Maroy 19...

Zone B1, 1496 old

P De Maeseneer from Denderwindeke won the zone and set a national record of 10. The first 24 classified are in the top 100 while 8 more pigeons are classified in the national. E Limburg leaves the top 100 by placing 6, 10, 13, 15, 19, 27, 48, 51,72. The top 100 also includes the 1/1 of L Luyckx ranked 14 and L Langbeen 29.

On the Walloon side, we find JC Cornet 11, Sauvage-Duran 17, 23, D Breuse 22, B Valenne 28...

Zone B2, 1509 old

We find the first 9 of the national including K Van Rompaey of St Trond. The zone distils 66 prices in the top 100 and gains 43 additional prices.

Zone C, 594 oldtimers

The top prize went to G Jackers from Vlijtingen, who was ranked 27 nationally. The top 5 finishers made it into the top 100 and the zone lost 6 prizes to the nationals. The prizes per 10 include the clear rounds 1/1 of Damry-Depierreux 31, J Dessers 35 and P Hogge 51. At the same time, we find 2 trebles obtained by G Jackers classified 1, 18, 40 and J Thone 6, 15, 55.

A few figures

Winner's speed, 1587.1601 m

Gap between the first 2, 15 seconds

Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1490.9445 m

Speed of the last classified, 1370.5297 m

Duration of the competition, 1h08'38''

Average gap between 2 pigeons, 3.1 seconds

Top 10 national yearlings

1. R MENTEN de Rummen, 1601.5590 m

2. D Tournelle de Rummen, 1589,6910 m

3. 4. 9. K Van Rompaey de St Trond, 1574,8275, 1565,2288 and 1558,1504 m

5. S Reynaerts de Velm, 1564,6138 m

6. W Vos de Tielt-Winge, 1563,7280 m

7. N Broeckx de Oud-Turnhout, 1561.5521 m

8. Herbots J & R from Halle-Booienhoven, 1558,5988 m

10. R Lodewijckx from Tielt-Winge, 1556,4709 m

Some colonies are in great shape. After a number of high-profile appearances in the older classes, they are back in the national top 10 for yearlings. This is the case for K Van Rompaey who has 6 prizes, N Broeckx, D Tournelle and Herbots J & R who have 2.

Even stronger than in the older years, Flanders dominates the top 100 with 90 prizes. Three provinces start above the top 100: West Flanders, Walloon Brabant and Luxembourg. The top 100 is shared between Flemish Brabant with 44 prizes, Antwerp 22, Limburg 19, East Flanders and Liège 5, Hainaut 4 and Namur 1.

The top 100 includes some fine prizewinners. These include R Menten ranked 1, 15, 37, 53, 65, 67, 71, 73, 80, 81, D Tournelle 2, 11, 14, 16, 26, 40, 60, 68, 72, K Van Rompaey 3, 4, 9, 25, 29, 43, 99, 100, Herbots J & R 8, 18, 23, 64, 76, 83, 93...

With the high speeds recorded, it was difficult to stand out in the south of the country which started with Famille 3D classified 38, 95, Hensen-Mentior 44, 90, C Debushaye 54, 58, Defoort-Thiriau 78, F Michaux 96...

First finishers by province and EPR

Flemish Brabant, R Menten de Rummen, 1601.5590 m, 1 national

Limburg, K Van Rompaey de St Trond, 1574.8275 m, 3 nationals

Antwerp, N Broeckx de Oud-Turnhout, 1561,5521, 7 nat.

East Flanders, Dhaenens-De Block de Schelderode, 1542,7621 m, 27 nat.

EPR HBW, Famille 3D de Ghlin "H", 1534.7303 m, 38 nat (Sauvage-Duran de Bornival "BW", 1468.6093 m, 283 nat) 

EPR LNL, Hensen-Mentior de Aubel "Lg", 1531.1786 m, 44 nat (F Michaux de Mariembourg "N", 1510.5478 m, 96 nat and JP Degée de Hotton "Lx", 1500.5158 m, 128 nat) 

Flandre Occidentale, G Dewaele-Deseyn de Ingooigem, 1489.2409 m, 173 nat.

The zones in brief

Zone A1, 316 yearlings

Pollin M & G de Snellegem dominated the zone, but was only ranked 357 nationally. The zone closes the competition with a delay of almost 60 m, which results in the loss of 44 prizes at the national, that is to say more than half of the classified pigeons.

In the prizes by 10, we will retain O Farcasel classified 3, 13, 24, 25, 28 or the clear rounds 1/1 of Backelandt G & B classified 10 and U Anseeuw 17.

The Walloon colonies start with F Gaquière ranked 42.

Zone A2, 1577 yearlings

Victory went to Dhaenens-De Block de Schelderode who was placed 27 nationally and 1 provincially. The first 4 are in the top 100 and the zone places 22 additional pigeons in the national.

The top 100 features some fine prize-winning series such as Vandenheede F & J ranked 5, 6, 13, 15, 60, 68, 72, 73, 79, 95, 97, 98, 99, Van Gaver T & M 4, 30, 40, 46, 56, 59, 66, 67, 69, Defoort-Thiriau 3, 32, 38, 52, 62...

Zone B1, 1962 yearlings

The zone victory and the national 20 go to Geerinckx B & J from Wommelgem. The zone placed 18 pigeons in the top 100, but lost 45 prizes at the nationals.

Among the strong pigeons present in the top 100, we have K Cleirbaut ranked 3, 5, 8, 17, 42, 64, 65, 78, 87, 88, E Limbourg 2, 28, 37, 43, 58, 59, 69, 73, 94, Noel-Willockx 7, 15, 26, 32, 48, 62...

On the Walloon side, we find Famille 3D 6, 18, 39, A Descamps 31, Canion-Sobkowiak 36, 41...

Zone B2, 1926 yearlings

The national top 10 is complete in this zone, which also dominates the top 100 with 71 prizes, while the rapid closing of the competition meant that it won 62 additional prizes.

The reins are held by R Menten from Rummen.

Zone C, 731 yearlings

Thone X & M de As dominates the zone and is ranked 30 nationally. The first 7 classified are in the top 100 and the zone nibbles away at 3 additional prizes at the national level.

In the prices by 10, we will retain JP Degée classified 14, 20, 38, 43, 54, 64, M Bertrand 18, 46, 50, 55, 67, F Franssen 8, 11, 39, 52, JM Caro 24, 25, 40, 57, C Delbushaye 3, 4, 37, 65... Let us also note the superb 2/3 of Hensen-Mentior classified 2 and 6.

A few figures

Speed of the winner, 1601.5590 m, the highest speed of the 11,854 pigeons entered

Gap between the first 2, 3'17

Speed of the 100th placed pigeon, 1509.3462 m

Speed of the last classified pigeon, 1347.5545 m

Duration of the competition, 1h21'56''

Average gap between 2 pigeons, 3.1 seconds

M Philippe