Demaret-Marichal (Herquegies) 1st and 2nd National ace KBDB marathon old birds 2024

The Demaret-Marichal tandem dreamed of the coveted title of National Ace Pigeon Great Long Distance KBDB 2024 and their dream came true as they won not only 1st but also 2nd place in this national ace pigeon competition. Fantastic, extraordinary, exceptional, monstrous.... there are not enough words to describe this double achievement.

Of course, the tandem for Perpignan, the last international long distance race of the season, was at the inforftable with its 2 toppers 'New Little Didi' (BE22-1075638) and 'Achille' (BE21-1091479). Two pigeons that were candidates for the national KBDB ace title because they had already brilliantly distinguished themselves in previous competitions, but they had yet to perform more than super on Perpignan. And the least we can say is that these 2 crack pigeons performed and did not disappoint because against 4,850 Belgian pigeons competing on Perpignan, 'New Little Didi' put its ring number behind the 11th place national and 'Achille' behind the 18th prize national. When both were clocked the joy of their owners couldn't stop. 

And it got even better, these two cracks achieved in addition to their titles of national ace pigeon also the 2 first places in the Ranking Great Fond old 2024 (3 prizes) KBDB and PIPA where the Tandem Demaret-Marichal classified 11 of their pigeons on the 57 classified Belgian pigeons. Speaking of pure class.

Results 2024 on the national long distance races :

24/6/24 Pau (865 km) 3,368 old : 25, 28, 82, 108, 193, 212 ... (9/15)
28/6/24 Agen (775 km) 6,435 old : 6, 273, 423, 520, 528, 607 ... (9/14)
05/7/24 Barcelone (1014 km) 6,310 old : 164, 487, 703, 1448 (4/8)
14/7/24 Dax (849 km) 2,575 old : 3, 49, 69, 71, 84 ... (15/23)
19/7/24 Marseille (830 km) 2082 old : 31, 146, 334 (3/5)
28/7/24 Narbonne (895 km) 4,983 old : 15, 654, 811 ... (6/8)
05/8/24 Perpignan (865 km) 4,850 old: 11, 18, 20, 37, 124, 397, 411, 579 ... (12/ 17 of which 5 pigeons on day of release)

We would like to introduce you : 

The Demaret-Marichal tandem consists of 2 former top athletes. 
Grégory Demaret, 45, train driver by profession, was active in Belgian athletics. He won more than 25 ACRHO Challenge road races and in his youth ran 10 km in less than 31'. 
Thierry Marichal, 51, current sports director of the professional cycling team Cofidis, is well known to sports enthusiasts among us as he participated as a professional cyclist in 5 x Tour de France, 4 x Giro Italy and 2 x Vuelta. Due to lack of time, the 2 friends, who also successfully practiced pigeon racing alone, are joining forces in 2020 to practice their favorite hobby... going for very highest level is more than an objective for both of them.
Since the pigeon season and the cycling season take place at the same time, Thierry Marichal has taken over the breeding loft. Freed from breeding, Grégory Demaret can fully concentrate on the sportive and competitive side of the colony.

An exceptional breeding loft
What can we say about the breeding loft, well the quality present there is very exceptional. It consists of 8 breeding boxes and 15 breeding couples, in which we find, hold on tight, besides their “golden couple” (parents and grandparents of more than 10 different top 100 national winners ), the 2nd International Marseille, the 2nd National Narbonne, the 3rd National Dax, the 4th National Perpignan (' Le Perpignan ' ), the 5th National Barcelona (' Mattéo ' ), the 6th National Narbonne (' Le Boss ' ), ' Zizou ', ' Nirvana ' and ' Le Rouge 613 '. This breeding team will now be reinforced with the 1st and 2nd national ace KBDB great long distance 2024. 

Who in Belgium or anywhere else in the world has such a breeding loft for very long distance? 

References 

Youri Deblanc from Ronse won the 1st Provincial in Agen, in 1,799 pigeons with a half-brother of the Boss.

The colony Vanrokeghem-Marichal of Saint-Sauveur wins the title of 1st National Champion Rhone Valley in 2022 with this of our interlocutors. 

Cédric Rosiaux (France) wins the 1st St Junien of 5,910 pigeons in 2021 with a granddaughter of the “ Golden Couple ”.

Aurélien Rollet (France) wins 1st Argenton from 7,234 pigeons.

Delepine-Lucas (France) is European Ace Pigeon candidate on the Great Distance International flights (with 2 prizes).

The Lenoir brothers from Forest, the tandem Sylvain & Francis Claes from Taintignies, etc.... the list of references is too long to mention them all.

Lofts

Grégory Demaret's loft in Herquegies (in the west of the province of Hainaut, near Tournai) is not particularly luxurious but everything is functional and well organized. The loft for old pigeons is divided into 6 compartments, of which 5 (white, yellow, pink, green and blue, a different color per loft) are reserved for the old pigeons. Each of these 5 compartments can house a maximum of 8 pigeons. The sixth compartment is reserved for 40 yearlings. The exits of the racing loft face east, so the sun can shine on them early in the morning. The pigeons sit on grids, 1 meter off the ground (very deep), which prevents dust from entering the troughs. The front under the loft is closed so no draft gets into the compartments. After spending some time in the pigeon loft, you really feel at home: no smell, no draft, few pigeons (8) per compartment, which means it must be the same for the pigeons.

Method, care, tips and tricks

The colony consists of 40 old cocks and 40 yearling cocks. They once tried to race with the hens, but after a while they decided to only race with cocks. The old cocks are played according to classical widowhood, and are used “per loft” on the races. For the basketing of the 1st international race, the hens are not presented, for the 2nd international race, they are allowed to cuddle “madame” for 1 hour, and for the 3rd and last international marathon race, “madame” appears on the loft in the morning and stays there until basketing. Straw is also put in each compartment. Important detail, the old pigeons always keep the same hen during their racing career. After Perpignan, they stay together until mid-November. Afterwards, they are separated to be paired around March 25. Then they are allowed to breed for 6 days. So the racers don't breed.
Yearlings are played as “singles” and have no hens. They are motivated only by “the love of their living tank”. They participate in 3 national races and the one who does not win 2 prizes on these 3 flights gets a very last chance on Narbonne. If they can't rank there either, they have to leave the racing team. 
The youngsters are played until Bourges National so they can gain experience, but little attention is paid to their results.
Grégory really does everything to take care of his pigeons to the last detail. Thus Grégory, who works 4/5 shifts (with Friday off), accumulates his annual leave from June 10 to July 20 so that he can devote 100% to playing with his pigeons.
For Grégory, the health of the pigeon, the care, the feeding and the presence of the hen on the return are important factors for the success of the pigeon fancier, but the instinct of the defense of the territory prevails and it is moreover for this that, for example, after the national race of Argenton, he adapted his installations by extending all the trays of these old racers with a 15 cm wide board (see photos), this will be used to feed and above all give the pigeons the opportunity to fight to defend their territory, and as Grégory says: “eating from your neighbor's plate” is a great source of motivation for both of them.

Grégory feeds 6 to 7 times a day - yes, you read correctly. He feeds the same mix almost all year long, namely 'Recup Columbi'. Only when the basketing date of the 1st international marathon race is approaching, he changes the menu and he feeds 'Prepa Columbi' mix, this until the end of the sport season. These 2 mixtures were composed by Grégory himself, in collaboration with Frédéric Leclercq (Taintignies). Gregory is convinced that the more you can make the pigeons eat, the bigger your chances are to win top prizes. Grit and minerals 'Detox Mineral Mix', 'Multi Mineral Mix' (Beyers) are given as well as the energy mix 'Premium Super Energy' (Beyers) and this sometimes very late in the evening, and in different times (21h and 23h). The pigeon lofts are lit (via a timer) as of June 25, this from 4:30 in the morning until they are turned off at 23:30. During the week, Grégory likes to use Lugol (based on iodine) and Ferricure (based on iron) in the water . Upon their return from the races, the widowers also receive some peanuts as a reward for their efforts.
When it comes to training, Gregory is very strict, because for him they are essential to detect the fitness/condition of the colony. Because their pigeons eat a lot, they have to compensate with intensive exercise to keep their balance. Daily training at home takes place twice a day and the pigeons are released in groups, first the old pigeons who have to fly 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening for the 1st international race and when the flight time decreases, the yearlings and youngsters are released in turn to reactivate the flock. After the 2nd international flight, 40 min per training is enough. And if the competition has been very tough, the pigeons even stay inside for 1 or 2 days. Between the international flights, they are also let out once at 20km. When they arrive home, their hens are ready. 

The veterinarian (Wim Boddaert/Oostkamp or Pascal Lanneau/Zwevegem) performs the mandatory vaccinations and is consulted at the beginning of the season. In 2024, the tandem sat down in the veterinarian's waiting room only once - in February. Grégory, who has his own microscope, analyzes everything regularly and if a problem (trichosis or something else) is detected, they respond immediately with the appropriate treatment. In preparation for each international competition, a course of respiratory treatment is performed, but never the same. The treatment should be varied, with the 1st cure before the competition and the 2 other cures upon return from the competition.

The motto of the tandem, “VAINCRE OU MOURIR ” is written on the door of the loft, and yes, the racers of this tandem are gladiators and have no choice but to perform, because old pigeons that are not classified on the internationals are automatically selected out, except if the pigeon is injured or returning from a disaster flight. So the selection is ruthless and based solely on the results obtained in marathon competitions. 

Grégory and Thierry are true pigeon fanciers at heart. Nothing is left to chance and no effort is too much for them to succeed. Grégory sleeps very little, getting up at 4am during the pigeon season and going to bed around midnight, after a final visit to the loft. He gives himself 200% and is very meticulous in managing the colony. Thierry and Grégory also evaluate everything very regularly and if there is a problem they think together - 2 opinions are better than 1, says Thierry - that is also the strength of a winning team.

I can tell you that the future is assured and we will still be talking about them, given the quality of the breeding loft, the performance of the racing team and the commitment of Grégory and Thierry,. 

The whole Herbotsteam wishes them an international victory for the season 2025.

Bernard Henry