Analyze Bourges National

The number of yearlings rose from 10,367 to 12,094 this year. The number of old pigeons, on the other hand, fell from 7,610 to 7,270. In yearlings, all the provinces and EPR are progressing with the exception of Flemish Brabant which is losing 56 pigeons. In the old pigeons, it is the other way round, all are negative, except LNL which increases by 16 pigeons and Limburg which goes from 1,032 to 1,121 old pigeons.

The pigeons were released in Vierzon at 8.15 a.m., with a temperature of 15°C, a moderate westerly wind and a slightly cloudy sky. The pigeons covered the distance in an often strong, moderate to strong SW'ly wind.

The province of Limburg was in a perfect position to win this competition.

Top 10 old nationals

1. W PALMERS from Wellen, 1671,9354 m

2. 3. 8. 9. D Rego de Wijer, 1670,3152, 1669,7160, 1658,1180 and 1657,9212 m
4. J Thone d'As, 1669,5373 m
5. Geraerts-Vanlanden de Wijer, 1667,7737 m
6. M Creten de St Trond, 1660,5620 m
7. S Brugmans de Halen, 1658,6325 m
10. G Rondags de Spouwen-Bilzen, 1657,0600 m
With a favourable wind, Limburg not only won the national title, but also the entire top 10. The top 100 includes 7 different provinces. Namur and 2 Flanders, which do not have access to the top, were particularly prominent.
The middle-distance competitions did not smile much in the south of the country, especially when the speeds were high. After the passage of the N.E. provinces, places became very expensive. For example, 2 Flanders had no prizes in the top 100, while Limburg had 51, Antwerp 22 and Flemish Brabant 18. On the Walloon side, we find Liège with 4 prizes, Walloon Brabant 3, Hainaut and Luxembourg 1.
D'Rego's fine record of 4 prizes in the national top 10 continues with further placings of 5, 33, 43, 44 and 50. Others posted clear rounds. Some amateurs recorded a very good success rate in the top 100, such as the 2/3 of W Palmers ranked 1 and 48 or the 3/5 of Hermans-Bonne 38, 94, 97.
The Walloon colonies started with JP Degée 12, O Poussart 29, Pierre R & D 30, F Foulon 31... 
First arrivals by province and EPR
Limburg, W Palmers de Wellen, 1671.9354 m, 1 national
Flemish Brabant, M Lossignol de Budingen, 1655.7804 m, 11 nationals.
EPR LNL, JP Degée de Hotton "Lx", 1653,9626 m, 12 nat (F Foulon de Flémalle "Lg", 1640,0110 m, 31 nat and JP Devos de Le Roux "N", 1605,8192 m, 206 nat)
Antwerp, Geyskens-Deville de Veerle, 1648,10935 m, 14 nat.
EPR HBW, O Poussart de Vaulx-lez-Chimay "H", 1641,0655 m, 29 nat (Pierre R & D de Bossut-Gottechain "BW", 1640,3020 m, 30 nat)
East Flanders, P Pillet de Meerbeke, 1595,2410 m, 310 nat.
West Flanders, K Huys de Deerlijk St Lodewijk, 1558,5266 m, 854 nat.

 

The zones in brief

Zone A1, 359 old
D Schreel de Gits obtained a double at the top of zone A1, which was largely surpassed at national level as it was out of the general ranking.
In the prices per 10, we note the clear round of Pollin M & G classified 5, 10 and 30 for a 3/3, or the 4/6 of Roose-Pyra 12, 13, 17, 28.
Zone A2, 552 old horses
The prize goes to K Huys from Deerlijk St Lodewijk who is ranked 854 nationally by winning the West Flanders provincial. Only the first 5 are classified at the national level.
In the Prix par 10, we will remember the clear rounds of C Debacker ranked 8 and 20 for a 2/2 as well as F Van de Walle 13 and 55, or the 1/1 of D Ingels 24.
Among the Walloon colonies, we have Gillard-Delbroeck 3, 27, 38, Desmons-Wibaut-Lemoine 6, 45...
Zone A3, 805 old
Victory went to J Pappens from Hundelgem who was 605 national. Only the first 59 classified are in the national, less than one pigeon out of 13 entered. J Pappens also obtained the longest series in the 10 pigeon prizes by placing 1, 8, 13, 37, 38, 48. He was followed by K Saudoyez 6, 18, 22, 59, 62, D Vermassen 2, 17 ; 40, 56, 78...
The south of the country is well represented with D Deplus 5, K Saudoyez 6, 18, Goemaere J & G 11, Harchies C & C 12, E François 14, A Creteur 16...
Zone B1, 867 old
The winner of the East Flanders provincial, P Pillet de Meerbeke, won the zone and was placed 310 nationally. The lack of prizes at the national level is still glaring since only the first 115 are classified.
Prizes by 10, we note Moens W & B classified 6, 9, 13, 59, 61, 62, 77 or the 2/2 of J Van Cutsem 35, 41, J Vermeir 55, 82 or the 1/1 of Coppens-Segers 57 and D De Wolf 83...
On the Walloon side, we have Verspreet-Chalet 3, Murez-Marichal 12, 21, J Croes 15, S Verplancken 17, Vlassenbroeck-Rosseel 19, François-Delporte 20...
Zone B2, 1208 old
J Van der Weerden from Schepdaal won the zone and was ranked 45 nationally. The first 4 are classified in the national top 100 and the zone counts 44 additional prizes to the national.
The top 100 records the series of P Vervloesem ranked 5, 27, 29, 30, 37, 76, 98, J Luyckx 9, 21, 33, 54, 82, 90, Noeyens-Lenaerts 31, 42, 65, 75, 85, 99...
On the Walloon side, we start with G Fascelle 12, Henry-Blanc 17...
Zone B3, 1219 old
The zone is led by Geyskens-Deville de Veerle who is ranked 14 national. The zone positions 26 pigeons in the top 100 and closes with a bonus of 120 prizes in the national.
G Loockx obtains the longest series of prizes by being classified 10, 37, 50, 74, 89, 90. He is followed by M Bommerez 4, 54, 92, 95, 98... Among the clear rounds, we have the 2/2 of V Goovaerts classified 38, 51, the 3/3 of Derwa-Luxem 12, 30, 57, the 1/1 of Mommaerts M & J 73, Van Tongelen-Vermaelen 81, J Haine 83...
Pierre R & D 7, 23, O Andries 21, M Cambier 36 form the Walloon leading trio.
Zone B4, 1242 old
The national top 10 is already well underway with D Rego de Nieuwerkerken winning the zone. The top 44 are in the top 100 and a further 198 pigeons complete the national.
D Rego is practically the only pigeon ranked 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 17, 25, 26, 28, 53, 72, 79, 85, followed by S Brugmans ranked 5, 18, 40, 81, 91... Note the 1/1 of Geraerts-Vanlanden 3, JP Vangeebergen 59...
O Poussart 15, 52, S Godfriaux 48 are the first Walloons of a very scattered presence.
Zone C, 1018 old
The zonal and national prize goes to W Palmers from Wellen. The zone occupied 26 places in the top 100 and recorded 103 additional prizes at national level.
The strongest presence is for V Kockelmans ranked 32, 34, 35, 68, 82, 95, followed by J Thone 2, 30, 40, 41, 47...
The south of the country starts with JP Degée 4, F Foulon 9, 26, V Andot 18, Bodson J & F 21...

 

Some figures

Speed of the winner, 1671.9354 m

Gap between the first 2, 16".

Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1620.0542 m

Speed of the last classified, 1516.1982 m

Duration of the competition, 28'36

Average gap between 2 pigeons, 0.95 seconds

Top 10 national yearlings

1. J HENRIX de Stokrooie, 1687.4889 m

2. 6. D Rego de Wijer, 1680,4657 and 1670,7148 m
3. R Bruninx de Genoelselderen, 1677,7417 m
4. Geraerts-Vanlanden de Wijer, 1672,7644 m
5. H Caenen de Veldwezelt, 1671,6526 m
7. K Van Rompaey de St Trond, 1667,5467 m
8. J Govaerts de Olmen, 1667,3305 m
9. Van Hertem-Schuurmans de Pelt, 1665,5119 m
10. Knaepen, D & B de Binderveld, 1664,2016 m

 

As in the past, Limburg still has the best places, but it has to concede one of the top 10 places to Antwerp. The difference between north and south is even more glaring. Limburg has 45 pigeons in the top 100, while Antwerp has 27 and Flemish Brabant 26. The remaining 2 places are shared between Hainaut and Walloon Brabant.
D Rego, after his 4 prizes in the national top 10 for old horses, is back at it again with 2 prizes in the yearling top 10.
The top 100 is very diverse, which prevents long series of prizes. At most, we note D Rego placed 2, 6, 47, 92, L Dompas 25, 51, 73, T Weytjens 50, 75, 96... E Claes achieves 1/1 by placing 15. Let's also note the 2/3 of R Houben ranked 13 and 24.
Poor results for the Walloon colonies with O Poussart 58, L Jacques 90, the only two in the top 100.

 

First finishes by province and EPR
Limburg, J Henrix de Stokrooie, 1687.4889 m, 1 national
Antwerp, J Govaerts de Olmen, 1667.3305 m, 8 nat.
Flemish Brabant, E Claes de Kortenaken, 1654,7621 m, 15 nat.
EPR HBW, O Poussart de Vaulx-lez-Chimay "H", 1641,3185 m, 58 nat (L Jacques de Chaumont-Gistoux "BW", 1634,4562 m, 90 nat.
EPR LNL, V Andot de Visé "Lg", 1626,9933, 133 nat (JP Devos de Le Roux "N", 1616,0745 m, 206 nat and M Muller de Fauvillers "Lx", 1534,6250 m, 1789 nat)
East Flanders, K Crucke de Onkerzele, 1601.2833 m, 384 nat.
West Flanders, R D'Hoop de Desselgem, 1538,4935 m, 1685 nat.
The distribution is simple, with only 2 provinces in the top 10 and 5 in the top 100.

 

The zones in a nutshell
Zone A1, 477 yearlings
A Ampe de Zedelgem wins the zone, but is out of the national rankings. In the prices per 10, we find Roose-Pyra ranked 4, 7, 14, 18, 20, 21, Familie Schreel 13,16, 25, 30, 36, 42, D Schreel 9, 10, 34, 37, 38... 
Zone A2, 980 yearlings
Victory went to P Dobbelaere de Olsene who was ranked 1264 national. Only the first 56 are classified at the national level. The winner is placed 1, 14, 36, 41, 44, 78, followed by M Mortier 13, 24, 31, 49, 64, 88, Huyzentruyt-Fourneau 43, 51, 55, 58, 68...
On the Walloon side, we have Van Parys-Debusschere 5, M Casaert 7, Desmons-Wibaut-Lemoine 23...
Zone A3, 1423 yearlings
We remain outside the top 100 with the double of J Pappens from Hundelgem, placed 569 nationally. There are 145 yearlings in the national ranking, which is only one pigeon out of 10 entered.
The top 100 saw De Bock-De Smeyter ranked 10, 15, 24, 25, 29, 67, 76, 78, D Vermassen 22, 30, 34, 74, 85, 86, 96, K Saudoyez 6, 7, 20, 21, 43, 68, ...
On the Walloon side, K Saudoyez is followed by Casaert-Sénéchal 13, JP Huin 18, S Dernicourt 19...
Zone B1, 1370 yearlings
K Crucke de Onkerzele wins the zone as well as the provincial of East Flanders, but is classified 384 national. The zone loses 137 prizes at the national, i.e. 10% of its pigeons entered.
Among the strong presences, let us note the Team Baetens classified 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 24, 35, 41, 58, 61, 66, 73, 75, G Van Limbergen 11, 22, 31, 34, 44, 45, 86... Let us also note the 1/1 of R Desprez classified 95.
On the Walloon side, we note Vlassenbroeck-Rosseel 2, S Verplancken 16, Genlain-Dupont 20...
Zone B2, 2062 yearlings
Engels J & Y de Putte wins and is 28 national. The zone placed 7 pigeons in the top 100 and collected 75 additional prizes at the national level.
The top 100 is marked by Op de Beeck-Baetens ranked 7, 19, 55, 56, 64, 68, H Hermans 3, 9, 28, 36, 57, 70, J Vercammen 10, 15, 24, 81, 96, 98, P Vervloesem 6, 13, 20, 33, 53...
The omnipresence of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant leaves no room for Walloon colonies in the top 100.
Zone B3, 2053 yearlings
The prize goes to Derwa-Luxem de Herent, ranked 18th nationally. The zone occupies 24 places in the top 100 and offers itself 228 additional prizes at the national level.
The top 100 includes Van Oeckel B & N 12, 15, 41, 45, 47, 55, 63, 68, 89, 94, as well as Thys N & R 9, 18, 31, 88, 92...
The south of the country starts with D Wanufel 30, O Andries 72...
Zone B4, 2310 yearlings
Zone and national victory for J Henrix de Stokrooie, in a zone that took 54 places in the top 100 and finished strongly with 277 additional prizes at national level.
D Rego once again distinguished himself by finishing 2, 4, 27, 53, 54, 93, 94, 96. He is followed by G Verbruggen ranked 18, 62, 67, 76, E Schepmans 33, 37, 77, 79... We will also remember the 1/1 of E Claes 12, Briers V & M 89...
On the Walloon side, we have O Poussart 35, L Jacques 52, D Sapin 69...
Zone C, 1419 yearlings
R Bruninx from Genoelselderen takes first place in the zone and the national 3. The first 15 are distributed in the national top 100 and they are 95 additional pigeons to enter the national.
Among the multiple presences, let us note T Weytjens classified 9, 12, 14, 24, 39, 61, Bodson-Vranken 17, 23, 80, 98, 99, H Caenen 2, 10, 26, 27... Let us also pin the 3/3 of R Houben classified 3, 6, 50 or the 2/2 of M Remans 18, 22...
V Andot 25, V Kockelmans 28 and Bodson J & F make up the Walloon top three.

 

A few figures
Speed of the winner, 1687.4889 m
Gap between the first 2, 1'10
Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1633.0082 m
Speed of the last classified, 1492.4371 m
Duration of the competition, 36'56
Average gap between 2 pigeons, 0.73 seconds
M Philippe