In the world of pigeon racing, conversations frequently center around form, a bit of luck, or having the ideal loft location. However, a close analysis of the results from the one day long distance race from Chateauroux Parc reveals that top-tier sport is, at its core, simply the sum of rock-solid genetics, meticulous preparation, and cold data. On Saturday, July 4, 2026, Huub Hermans from Born demonstrated that performing at this level is no fluke. It is the logical outcome of an incredibly strong strain that has rested for decades on an indestructible Van Loon foundation.
No exaggerated stories this time, just a straightforward look at the hard reality of a memorable flight.
Fair play under a westerly wind
At exactly 07.15 AM, the baskets opened in Chateauroux for 2465 Limburg athletes. With 17 degrees on the thermometer, a lightly clouded sky, and a moderate southwestern wind (force 3), it immediately became a fair and competitive battle. Due to the tailwind, impressive speeds were achieved. This also meant that the pigeons had to navigate sharply right from the very first meters. A single navigational error and you were no longer in contention for the early prizes in this company.
Exactly 556.303 kilometers away from the release site, the Hermans family was ready, eyes fixed squarely on the sky over Born.
The mathematical precision of Hermans Pigeons
Huub entered a compact, sharply selected team of 28 pigeons for this edition of Chateauroux. What followed was a beautiful display of consistency. While many fanciers experienced significant gaps between arrivals, the pigeons in Born followed each other in quick succession.
The hard facts at a glance:
Pigeons entered: 28
Provincial prizes: 14
Prize percentage: Exactly 50% — which is a clean one-out-of-two ratio in major competition
Top prizes: 3 birds well within the top 110 of the entire province
The absolute standout of the day was the two-year-old cock NL25-1455440M. He went into the battle as the second nominated bird and did not let Huub’s trust down. At 13.54.55 PM, he clocked in. With an average speed of 1391.047 meters per minute, he claimed the 2nd Provincial against 2465 pigeons. It was a hair’s breadth away from gold, but the performance stands as solid as a house.
A Word from the Boss: “100% home from Barcelona 2026: When the ultimate endurance race demands a perfect engine, I rely on Berger Products to fuel my champions.”
The Pedigree of a Champion: A Genetic Goldmine
The lineage of this provincial runner-up, NL25-1455440M (lovingly named Son Randy), perfectly illustrates that top-tier racing pigeons are born from a meticulous blend of elite genetics, not random luck. This blue-bar cock is a direct half-brother to the legendary Olympic Marjolein, the 1st Best Sprint Pigeon in the PIPA Rankings and a Poznan Olympiad bird in 2018.
On his father’s side, he inherits the golden blood of Randy (NL15-1442800M), a direct son of the famous Superkoppel 45 from the Van Heteren partnership, infused with premium Ad Schaerlaeckens and G. & S. Verkerk bloodlines.
The dam’s side injects formidable Belgian racing power and proven NPO winning capability. His mother, Stephane 274 hen (BE22-2119274V), was bred by Huub’s close sport friend Stephane Pollart and is a direct daughter of a full brother to the iconic Mathieu from Bert Martens & Son—a powerhouse racer that single-handedly claimed three distinct 1st NPO victories (Sezanne, Issoudun, and La Souterraine). By pairing these lightning-fast sprint bloodlines with elite eendaagse fond (one-day long distance) performance genes, Huub Hermans has once again struck genetic gold, resulting in a world-class athlete that has already secured 14th National against 36,332 pigeons alongside his spectacular 2e Provinciaal triumph from Chateauroux.
The complete provincial score list
True class proves itself in depth. The fact that this specific Hermans Pigeons strain is so highly sought after worldwide for its performances at Olympiads and grueling One Loft Races became painfully clear to the competition when the rest of the Born team arrived.
This is the exact order in which the fourteen prize-winners classified in Afdeling 4:
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NL25-1455440M (2nd nominated): 2nd Provincial
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NL24-8580320V (21st nominated): 81st Provincial
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NL25-1455324V (25th nominated): 107th Provincial
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NL24-8580422M (15th nominated): 177th Provincial
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NL25-1455415V (26th nominated): 209th Provincial
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NL25-1455345V (24th nominated): 234th Provincial
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NL22-8647327V (5th nominated): 342nd Provincial
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NL25-2092423V (19th nominated): 513th Provincial
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NL22-8647402M (7th nominated): 543rd Provincial
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NL25-2092424V (28th nominated): 553rd Provincial
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NL25-1455311M (6th nominated): 597th Provincial
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NL25-1455407V (22nd nominated): 625th Provincial
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NL25-1455308M (14th nominated): 693rd Provincial
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NL25-1455435M (12th nominated): 756th Provincial
Quality selects itself
This result tells the story of strict discipline and a selection method that is never compromised. The entire system in Born is designed to breed pigeons that show up when it matters, regardless of the whims of the weather. With exactly half of the racing team firmly in the prizes against the absolute top of Limburg, Huub shows that his formation is setting the bar high again in 2026. The figures simply do not lie: class is embedded in the genes.
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
