One exceptional pigeon can win a major race. Building an entire family that performs from sprint to long distance is a different achievement altogether.
That is what makes Cleirbaut Pigeons stand out. From his loft in Putte, Belgium, Kris Cleirbaut developed a remarkably versatile colony—one strong enough to win national races, produce generations of KBDB ace pigeons and secure the title of 1st National KBDB Champion Long Distance Yearlings in both 2023 and 2025.
Behind those results is a deeply competitive fancier, but also a father, mentor and outspoken defender of fair racing and proper care for the birds.
Cleirbaut Pigeons Are Bred to Perform
Kris never built his name around one lucky result or one fashionable bloodline. His reputation came from pigeons that repeatedly proved themselves in the basket.
The record includes:
- 1st National KBDB Champion Long Distance Yearlings 2023
- 1st National KBDB Champion Long Distance Yearlings 2025
- 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th and 12th WBP National Ace Allround 2023
- 2nd, 5th and 8th National Ace KBDB Allround 2023
- 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 16th National Ace KBDB Allround 2024
- 3rd and 5th National Ace KBDB Long Distance Yearlings 2023
- 1st National Argenton Young Birds against 11,600 pigeons and fastest of 13,649 pigeons in 2025
- 1st National Limoges Yearlings against 4,689 pigeons in 2025
What matters most is the range. Cleirbaut pigeons have won at short distance, middle distance and long distance. They can race with explosive speed, but they also possess the strength to keep going when the kilometres begin to hurt.
Kris built a team, not a collection of isolated stars.
Alina: The International Standard
BE22-6099363 Alina became one of the defining pigeons of the Cleirbaut loft.
Her record speaks for itself:
- 1st World Best Pigeon Long Distance 2023
- 2nd National Ace KBDB Allround 2023
- 3rd Olympiad Pigeon Category I 2024
- 2nd fastest National Argenton against 15,210 pigeons
- 13th National Tulle against 7,813 pigeons
- 48th National Châteauroux against 13,096 pigeons
Alina was bred from Sire 363 and Birgit, combining the proven lines of Stefaan Lambrechts and Willy Daniels.
She was more than a brilliant racing hen. Her family became an important part of the breeding plan. Her daughter Alina’s Pride, BE24-6163006, went on to win 1st Provincial and 11th National Tulle against 5,880 pigeons.
That is the kind of continuity Kris values. A champion should not only race—it should strengthen the next generation.
Great Wall and Miss Argenton
BE24-6163002 Great Wall delivered one of the biggest victories in the history of Cleirbaut Pigeons.
On 6 July 2025, he won 1st National Limoges Yearlings against 4,689 pigeons. Racing over 663.532 kilometres, he recorded a winning velocity of 1321.8647 metres per minute.
Great Wall was raced under the name Alicia Cleirbaut & Goovaerts. He is a grandson of Olympic Jan and a half-brother to two other outstanding performers: Cherry and Miss Argenton.
BE25-6132313 Miss Argenton needed little time to establish her own reputation. As a young hen, she won:
- 1st National Argenton Young Birds against 11,600 pigeons
- Fastest of the entire liberation of 13,649 pigeons
Great Wall and Miss Argenton share the same mother, Vuil Blauw Scherke. Miss Argenton is also a granddaughter of Alina.
Three generations, two national winners and one carefully constructed family. This was breeding with a purpose.
Willy: The Breeder Behind the Results
Every lasting colony has a breeder whose influence runs quietly through the loft. For Kris, one of those foundation pigeons was BE17-6035960 Willy.
A grandson of Nikolaas and Kaat from the Willy Daniels family, Willy became the father of pigeons ranked:
- 5th National Ace KBDB over four Great Middle Distance races 2022
- 6th National Ace KBDB Great Middle Distance 2019
- 8th National Ace KBDB Long Distance Yearlings 2025
- 15th National Ace KBDB Great Middle Distance 2022
- 30th National Ace KBDB Great Middle Distance 2024
Those results explain why Willy mattered. He did not produce one headline pigeon and disappeared from the story. His children continued performing across different seasons and disciplines.
The wider Cleirbaut breeding programme combined proven influences from Willy Daniels, Stefaan Lambrechts, Leo Heremans, Gaston Van de Wouwer, Rudy Van Reeth and Danny Van Dyck.
Kris used those names as building blocks. The final judgment always came from the race basket.
A 2025 Season That Showed the Depth of the Loft
The 2025 season offered a clear picture of how complete the Cleirbaut team had become.
On 17 May, the family dominated the provincial race from Montargis over 373 kilometres. Against 7,277 old birds and yearlings, the loft finished:
- 1st Provincial
- 2nd Provincial
- 4th Provincial
Three pigeons among the first four is a loft performance, not an individual accident.
On 17 August, BE25-6132359 won from Noyon against 7,495 young birds in Antwerpen-Centraal. With a velocity of 1292.177 metres per minute, she was the fastest of the entire field of 11,541 pigeons.
Then came Melun on 6 September. Kris entered 98 young birds and won 73 prizes—almost 75 percent. He finished 1st, 8th and 9th against 1,160 pigeons and placed 25 birds inside the first hundred.
That compact flow of arrivals revealed the real strength of the loft. Several pigeons reached peak condition together because the underlying system worked.
Racing as a Family
The human side of Cleirbaut Pigeons matters just as much as the pedigrees.
Kris’ daughter Alicia grew up around the loft. She cared for the pigeons before school and returned to them after the final bell. The work was not pushed onto her; it grew out of genuine affection for the birds.
Together with Jens, she became closely involved in the team. Kris shared his knowledge and experience while giving the younger generation room to develop its own confidence.
The national Limoges victory with Great Wall gave that family story a championship-level result. It also demonstrated something the pigeon sport badly needs: young people who are allowed to participate, make decisions and experience the emotion of racing for themselves.
Knowledge only becomes a legacy when it is passed on.
Proven Beyond Belgium
Kris also found international success through his long-standing cooperation with Louis van Riet.
In 2018, Van Riet and Cleirbaut won the Pattaya One Loft Race final. They took both the individual victory and the team classification. In 2019, they returned to finish 8th in the final and 2nd in the team competition.
After several years away, they entered ten pigeons in Pattaya in 2025. Eight remained in competition after the demanding preparation races. Following races over 245, 285 and 330 kilometres, their pigeons ranked 34th, 203rd and 380th from 12,178 entries.
Different country. Different climate. The same demand for performance.
How Kris Cleirbaut Experiences Pigeon Racing
Kris treats his pigeons as athletes. Training, feeding, observation and recovery must fit together, but everything starts with the condition and welfare of the bird.
His involvement does not end at his own loft. In an open appeal to the KBDB, Kris called for greater transparency and higher standards in pigeon transport.
His priorities included:
- Proper ventilation and temperature control
- Continuous access to clean drinking water
- Responsible loading densities
- Skilled and well-trained convoyers
- Clear information about transport and liberation conditions
- Equal standards for every club and competitor
For Kris, animal welfare must be visible in daily practice. Fair racing also requires trustworthy organisation, professional transport and equal conditions for every participant.
He wants to win. There is no false modesty about that. But a victory only has value when the competition is honest and the pigeons receive the care they deserve.
The Lasting Influence of Cleirbaut Pigeons
In late 2025, all old birds and a group of 2025 youngsters were offered through PIPA. The collection included national winners, Olympiad pigeons, World Best Pigeons, national ace pigeons and proven breeders.
It closed an important chapter in Putte, but not the story of Cleirbaut Pigeons. Through their descendants, the families of Alina, Great Wall, Miss Argenton and Willy will continue on lofts around the world.
Kris Cleirbaut showed what happens when ambition is supported by patience, selection and genuine love for the pigeons. His results made him a national champion. His family, his breeding work and his uncompromising vision gave those results a deeper meaning.
The trophies record the victories.
The pigeons carry the legacy forward.
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
