The first official race of the season. You can feel it building up for days in advance. That familiar mix of excitement, hope, and a hint of nerves. On Saturday, April 5th, it was finally time. Bierges was on the schedule – 139 kilometers to my lofts in Delft. Sounds short, but don’t be fooled. A strong, cold northeast wind was blowing – exactly the kind of weather where a pigeon has to work to prove its worth. Not for the faint of heart.
8 Pigeons in this 1st race of 139 kilometer
I basketed eight warriors for this opening dance. The six yearlings from my “One Pair Barcelona Challenge”: ORION (NL.24-8362452), STELLAR (NL.24-8362453), GALAXY (NL.24-8362454), ECLIPS (NL.24-8362455), COMET (NL.24-8362456), and CELESTE (NL.24-8362457).
All of them descendants of my dream pair – bred and built for the big one: Barcelona. But the road to greatness starts with the basics, and Bierges was step one. To round out the team, I also sent two two-year-olds: “The Bachelor” and “Returned Girl.” Both have a little less flying experience than I’d like, so this was a perfect training run for them.
The release itself was a beauty. Clear skies, sunshine on the feathers, wind straight on the beak. It wasn’t going to be easy. And that’s exactly how I like it.
As I mentioned last week, our club added a fantastic new feature: the Marathon Pool. A separate classification where long-distance fanciers like myself can measure our future champions against the speedsters of the sprint game. And believe me, those sprinters are no joke. A total of 484 pigeons were entered, with 225 of them competing in the marathon pool.
The overall victory? That went to Combrink & Van der Heijden – and how! 1st and 2nd, and five birds in the top 10. Those guys are on fire. If they keep this up, it’s going to be a huge season for them.
But here comes the best part of the story.
In the Marathon Pool, it was my very own ECLIPS (NL.24-8362455) who was clocked first. A cock from my star team. Still young, but full of fire. With barely one meter per minute advantage over the runner-up, it was a close call – but hey, a win is a win. And what a win it was! First race of the Challenge and we start with a bang. That gives confidence. That sparks fire.
All eight pigeons returned home safely, complete and well. And get this – I was the only one in the club to achieve that! Not a single feather missing. That says something. About the preparation. About the quality. About the path we’re on.
Next week: Quievrain. 180 kilometers. Every week, a little further, a little more exciting.
But for now?
The first race. The first victory. A fantastic weekend.
See you next week,
Jan de Wijs
The Real Pigeon Boss
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