Analyze Barcelona 2023

The numbers have hardly changed compared to 2022 when we had 6,560 pigeons nationally. Some provinces and EPRs have slightly increased the number of basketed pigeons. This is the case of West Flanders +81, Limburg +45, Flemish Brabant +77. Others fell back, including East Flanders -86, Antwerp -97, HBW -5 and LNL -42.
Internationally, the situation is virtually unchanged, with the number of pigeons falling from 16,897 in 2022 to 16,524 this year. Despite this slight decrease, it has to be said that we are still in a downward spiral.
The pigeons were released at 7.00 a.m. under clear skies, with a temperature of 22°C and a light S.W. wind. The rest of the flight was made with a wind blowing mainly from the S.E., with temperatures fluctuating around 30°C.
The weather was favourable for reaching speeds rarely seen in Barcelona. It was mainly the French pigeons who benefited from this as they took most of the top prizes.

 

National Top 10

1. M DESPLENTER from Kortemark, 1143.9249 m

2. De Smeyter-Restiaen de Melden, 1123.1714 m
3. K Velghe de Oostrozebeke, 1071,5429 m
4. Vergaerde-Denolf de Jabbeke, 1063.8125 m
5. L Sempos de Herchies, 1059.4112 m
6. F Callebaut de Meldert, 1045.3287 m
7. D Aerens de Drongen, 1038.6412 m
8. E Meirlaen de Deurle, 1032,0133 m
9. I Pollet de Beveren-Leie, 1015,7894
10. Messiaen-Vanhauwaert de Avelgem, 1012.9280 m
The two provinces of Flanders still have the lion's share of the cake, with 9 places in the top 10 shared between them.
The top 100 is shared between East Flanders with 31 seats, West Flanders 26, Antwerp 15, Hainaut 13, Flemish Brabant 8, Namur 4, Limburg, Liège and Walloon Brabant 1. Luxembourg is nowhere near the top 100.
Long series are particularly rare, if not non-existent. T Mehmedov is ranked 35, 38, 71, 93, Janssen F & R 11, 30, 31, D Aerens 7, 12, 59, F De Ketelaere, 25, 26, 69, A Ibryam 29, 82, 89... 
The Walloon colonies occupied only 19 places. These include L Sempos 5, 44, Harchies C & C 15, Bastogne-Henry 22, JC Lambert 33, FV Sulmon 37, JP Delmarle 41, A Steenhaut 43, Hardeman-Legrand 50...

 

First finishers by province and EPR
West Flanders, M Desplenter de Kortemark, 1143.9249 m, 1 national
East Flanders, De Smeyter-Restiaen de Melden, 1123.1714 m, 2 nationals.
EPR HBW, L Sempos de Herchies "H", 1059.4112 m, 5 nationals (Delhove-Paesmans-Bouffa de Sart-Dames-Avelines "BW", 948.2835 m, 72 nationals) 
Antwerp, Janssen F & R de Balen, 1010,5453 m, 11 nat.
Flemish Brabant, E Limbourg de Brussegem, 1007.3097 m, 14 nat.
EPR LNL, Bastogne-Henry de Paifve "Lg", 995.2465 m, 22 nat (JC Lambert de Pesche "N", 981.9861 m, 33 nat and D Putman de Vlessart "Lx", 831.3634 m, 550 nat) 
Limbourg, M Schreurs de As, 959.8503 m, 58 nat.

 

The zones in a few words
Zone A1, 2081 old
Zone A1 is already a good reflection of the nationals as it took the win with M Desplenter de Kortemark, but also the 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. She also took 57 prizes in the top 100 and finished the competition with a bonus of 146 prizes.
There were some fine successes in the top 100 with the clear rounds of Harchies C & C ranked 10 for a 1/1, as well as J Wildemauwe 26, Eeckhout-Spileers 40, R Verhaest 62, De Pauw-Vercauter 80. Beautiful series are on the programme with F De Ketelaere classified 17, 18, 42, 70, 88, 90, 99, T Mehmedov 21, 24, 43, 54, 83, 100, De Smeyter-Restiaen 2, 12, 69, 77, 98...
Zone B1, 3416 old
Victory went to Wallonia with L Sempos de Herchies, ranked 5 nationally. The first 40 classified are distributed in the top 100, but the last 90 are excluded from the national following a closing 25 minutes later.
The top 100 included G De Clercq's 1/1 placed 6, as did P Boons 69. The longest series of prices went to Janssen F & R ranked 3, 11, 12, 46, Rans J & S 14, 23, 58, 61, W Roosen 30, 37, 94, 95...
Zone C, 1036 old
The victory is also Walloon with Bastogne-Henry de Paifve who is 22 national. He is the only pigeon in the national top 100. With the closing ceremony taking place 44 minutes after the national, Zone C only managed to place its first 203 pigeons, a loss of 56 prizes.
The top 100 is a great showcase for long series of prizes such as Bastogne-Henry classified 1, 4, 10, 15, 17, 19, 28, 29, 35, 50, 56, 60, 63, 75, M Schreurs classified 2, 22, 32, 44, 58, 62, 73, 74, 83, M Willems 6, 16, 26, 38, 71, 89, 9198...


A few figures
Winner's speed, 1143.9249 m
Gap between the top 2, 17'05
Speed 100°, 936.1302 m
Speed of the last classified, pole, 13h27'42''
Duration of the competition, 9h07'05''
Average gap between 2 pigeons, 20.1 seconds

 

The international
France, Ben Milou Hamed de Montvilliers, 1266,59 m, 1 international
England, M Gilbert de Winkfield, 1179.94 m, 6 internationals
Holland, PWA Van der Meulen de Sirjansland, 1168.38 m, 8 internationals
Belgium, M Desplenter de Kortemark, 1143.9249 m, 17 boarding. 
Germany, H Stollenwerk de Eschweiler, 944.10 m, 313 boarding.
Luxembourg, H Alves de Bous, 816.44 m, 1776 boarders.
The top 10 includes 3 countries, but Belgium is excluded. More than 100 m separated the first international, a Frenchman whose pigeon flew 909 km. The French are also in the majority in the top 100 with 85 prizes to 8 for Belgium, 6 for Holland and 1 for England.
In Belgium, only 3 pigeons were found on the first day of flight. They are ranked 1, 2 and 5 nationally. Internationally, they are 13 in the top 100.
M Philippe