Anyone scanning the race results last Monday noticed basically just one family name setting the pace. We travel to the epicenter of Flemish Brabant pigeon magic in Machelen. The men behind the successes of Van Win Pigeons experienced a weekend to remember. While the competition struggled with the first real hot summer day and a nasty wind blowing head-on across the line of flight, the athletes from Machelen proved they are in absolute peak condition. No dry statistics this week, but the pure story behind an impressive collective performance.
The Foundation Of A Close-Knit Pigeon Dynasty
At the base of all these weekly successes stands founding father Ludwig Van Win. He understood years ago that the path to the absolute top begins with strict selection and a breeding loft built on proven genes. Through the smart introduction of absolute top lines, including the natural racers of Gaby Vandenabeele and the iron-eaters of Erik Limbourg, he laid the foundation for a pigeon strain that can now compete anywhere in the world.
Add the golden breeding lines of the famous Radja from Roger Mertens to that mix, and you have a breeding loft overflowing with quality. The finest proof of that international class was seen recently in Poland, where their top hen Raya claimed victory in the gruelling One Loft Race MWG Mazury against nearly two thousand competitors. That winning blood is deeply embedded in the current racing teams.
Gregory Van Win Strikes Hard And Without Mercy
The man who claimed the absolute spotlights was without a doubt Gregory Van Win. He put down a series that left the rest of the field completely silent. On the shorter distance from Noyon, he let his class shine in the Recht en Vooruit club in Haacht. Against the gathered specialists, he did not just take the first prize, but immediately occupied the entire top of the rankings.
His top bird with ring number BE2049011-24 flew as if the devil himself were giving chase, capturing the victory with a speed of 1304 meters per minute. Scarcely a breath later, the second Van Win flyer arrived to claim the silver spot. With the fourth and fifth club prizes also in the bag, the dominance was complete. In the massive Sector 1 Oost against no fewer than 913 pigeons, this resulted in a fantastic overall showing with 21st and 38th place at the very front of the pack.
The party was not over yet. A day later on the classic flight from Gidy Orléans, Gregory simply continued that momentum. In the strong competition of Pajo Oost, his yearling BE2062002-25 settled beautifully into seventh place against 574 young cracks with a speed of 1512 meters per minute. Among the old birds, this powerhouse grabbed eighth place against 836 competitors.
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Milan Van Win Shows The Incredible Depth Of The Loft
A little further down the family line, young talent Milan Van Win proves that the future of the loft is in safe hands. Milan, who surprised friend and foe last year by winning first Ace Pigeon in the Shorter Middle Distance, opted for a surprising strategy this weekend. Where normally the well-known sisters Rani and Resi bring home the glory, these fixed values had to sit this one out.
No problem at all for Milan, because the depth of his racing squad is truly impressive. He basketed a completely new brigade and promptly parked two unproven talents right at the top of the sheets. Regionally at De Warande in Anderlecht, his first yearling, BE2103645-25, flashed to a brilliant sixth place among yearlings and a tenth spot against 260 old birds. In the large overarching ranking of Pajo Oost, his young prospects secured 38th and 101st prize. It proves that success at Van Win does not depend on one or two lucky shots, but that the entire breadth of the colony is drenched in pure quality.
Hok L & N Chooses Efficiency And Sharpness
Finally, we look at the trio of Bryan, Dylan, and Ludwig, flying under the banner of Hok L & N. These men do not care for mass numbers, but believe passionately in the philosophy of a small basket and maximum sharpness.
For the heavy work from Orléans, they had sent just two pigeons. This yielded a perfect fifty percent return when their BE2034461-25 took a beautiful prize at 25th place for yearlings and position 55 in the overall results. On the national flight from Limoges, their three long-distance flyers had to settle for a place in the shadows this time and missed the prizes. But anyone who knows these gentlemen knows that these moments provide the exact fuel needed to sharpen the knives for the upcoming marathon flights.
Muscles Of Steel And Character In The Wind
The race results only truly come to life when you look at the conditions over the weekend. The pigeons in Orléans were released early, at a quarter to eight in the morning, under a clear blue sky. Throughout the flight, they faced dry air and a cross-headwind. Those are the days when the masks come off. No lucky breaks thanks to a tailwind, just pure character and muscles of steel.
This weekend showed exactly why the pigeon sport is so beautiful when experienced across generations. The healthy rivalry at the kitchen table, looking up at the sky together, and the pure release of adrenaline when a flyer drops out of the sky like a bullet. The trend has been set in Machelen, and the season is still long!
Jan de Wijs
The Pigeon Boss
