Analyze Chateauroux 9 September

We are coming to the end of this 2023 season, which has been marked by weather conditions that have mainly been warm, but also by periods of rain that have led to frequent postponements of releases.
This last national race of the season shows a significant drop in the number of young pigeons, from 17,165 to 13,852. Some provinces are particularly affected by this downward spiral. East Flanders fell from 4,304 to 3,117 youngsters, Flemish Brabant from 2,655 to 1,576, Antwerp from 3,885 to 2,935... Only the EPR LNL increased slightly from 330 to 515 youngsters. Older pigeons increased slightly from 1,956 to 2,331. Only Limburg saw a slight drop, from 339 to 302 old pigeons.
The pigeons were released at 8.00 a.m. with a temperature of 18°C, a clear sky and no wind. The pigeons benefited from a favourable wind varying between S.W and S.E, which explains the speeds easily exceeding 1500 m.

Top 10 national youngbirds

1. LEUTENEZ E & M de Ruien, 1535,45

2. Nonckelynck-Verriest de Herseaux, 1534,
3. 5. G Clicque de Wevelgem, 1530, et 1522,
4. Schietse JM & D de Zingem, 1528,
6. Massu-Martin de Chapelle-à-Wattines, 1520,
7. Team Hooymans WVL de Desselgem, 1515,
8. Helleputte-Van Caneghem de Merelbeke, 1512,
9. P Van Driessche de Heurne, 1512,
10. E Vandenabeele de Neigem, 1511,

The velocity of the frontrunners were consistent, but we saw a significant drop in speeds with 24 m in the top 10 and already 85 m in the top 100. The 2 Flanders are omnipresent, but the 2 places taken by Hennuyers in the top 10 opened the door to other great successes in Walloon soil, however, the continuation is less glorious.
The top 100 was divided between East Flanders, which took 43 prizes, West Flanders 39, Hainaut and Antwerp 7, and Flemish Brabant 4. In other words, the bulk of the troops are in the west, with 2 Flanders taking 82 prizes.
The top 100 also produced some fine prize-winning series. This is the case for Team Hooymans WVL ranked 7, 17, 30, 34, 55, 56, 79, C Debacker 13, 22, 24, 27, 28, 59, G Clicque 3, 5, 14, 15, 83... We'll also mention the 2/2 of E Van Steenkiste ranked 29 and 64.
In addition to Nonckelynck-Verriest classified 2, 45, 61, 77 national, the Walloon colonies also appear with Massu-Martin 6, Murez-Marichal 46, B Defrenne 89...

First arrivals by province and EPR
East Flanders, Leutenez E & M de Ruien, 1535.4491 m, 1 national
EPR HBW, Nonckelynck-Verriest de Herseaux "H", 1534.4622 m, 2 nationals (Mauroy-Tondeur de Mont St Guibert "BW", 1379.0859 m, 490 nationals)
West Flanders, G Clicque de Wevelgem, 1530,6612 m, 3 nat.
Antwerp, P Vervloesem de Rijmenam, 1491,8506 m, 20 nat.
Flemish Brabant, E Limburg de Brussegem, 1475.2015 m, 42 nat.
Limburg, Schroyen-Stockmans de Heusden, 1396,9051 m, 375 nat.
EPR LNL, Massart-Salu de Sauvenière "N", 1319.8357 m, 1024 nat. (Henry A & M de Nandrin "Lg", 1226.5823 m, 1967 nat. and A Jamaigne de Les Bulles "Lx", 1071.7258 m, out of nat.) 
Only the 3 westernmost provinces make the top 10, while LNL and Limburg are excluded from the top 100.


 

The zones in brief
Zone A1, 1108 youngsters
A double was awarded to S Loyson from Handzame, who won the zone and was ranked 49 nationally. Only the top 3 were in the top 100. On the other hand, the zone had 30 additional prizes at national level.
Among the most impressive repeat offenders in the top 100 were Hok Bastiaenssens ranked 4, 6, 8, 20, 24, 36, 60, 90, R Verhaest 12, 13, 32, 47, 53, 62, 70, 97, S Loyson 1, 20, 19, 27, 28, 57, 69...
The south of the country appears with E Lizoen 29.
Zone A2, 2386 youngsters
First of zone and 2 national for Nonckelynck-Verriest de Herseaux. The zone places 37 pigeons in the national top 100. By finishing 114 m before the nationals, it collected 196 additional prizes.
The longest series of prizes in the top 100 went to G Clicque classified 2, 3, 7, 8, 34, 42, 46, 50, 55, 63, 81, 82, 83, 98, Team Platteeuw 5, 25, 26, 35, 40, 48, 53, 56, 60, 68, 69, 72, Team Hooymans WVL 4, 9, 15, 16, 20, 21, 31, 43, 66, C Debacker 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 47...
The Walloon colonies start with Nonckelynck-Verriest 1, 18, 24, 30.
Zone A3, 2209 youngsters
National and zone victory for Leutenez E & M de Ruien. The zone has 35 prizes in the national top 100 and 142 additional prizes.
Leutenez E & M recorded the longest series of prizes in the top 100, ranking 1, 21, 22, 48, 52, 61, 86, 88, 95, followed by Vandenheede F & J ranked 7, 16, 25, 36, 37, 53, 64, Y Haelters 23, 29, 35, 43, 44, 51, 73, P Van Driessche 4, 5, 27, 30, 34, 60...
A number of Walloon colonies feature in the top 100, including B Defrenne 31, D Deruyver 54, Defoort-Thiriau 55, Harchies C & C 67, Goemaere J & G 85, C Maroy 93, L Lefebvre 94, A Allemeersch 96, JM Bourdon 99...
Zone B1, 1817 youngsters
The second Walloon colony, 6 national, Massu-Martin de Chapelle-à-Wattines won the B1 zone which placed 14 pigeons in the national top 100. The colony also won 96 additional national prizes.
Team Noel-Willockx won the most series in the top 100 with 15, 26, 34, 37, 38, 54, 66, 67, 75, 82, 87. It is followed by Team Baetens ranked 4, 12, 18, 27, 28, 30, 40, 57, 68, A Vandenberghe 2, 3, 16, 19, 20, 45, 59, 86...
Massu-Martin's Walloon victory was followed by Murez-Marichal 5, L Pauporte 48, S Verplacken 50...
Zone B2, 2314 youngsters
Victory goes to E Vandenabeele from Neigen, ranked 10 national. The zone places 7 pigeons in the national top 100, but finishes 113 m after the national, which makes it lose 107 prizes.
The most represented in the top 100 is K Cleirbaut ranked 11, 18, 32, 51, 67, 80, 83, followed by W Daniels 14, 15, 30, 34, 63, E Limbourg 4, 23, 26, 44, 71...
There are no Walloon colonies in the top 100.
Zone B3, 1625 youngsters
Habracken-Ducheyne de Vorselaar took first place in the zone and was 25th nationally. The zone only placed 3 pigeons in the national top 100 and finished with a deficit of 44 prizes.
Among the first 100, we will remember Roziers-Xiang classified 9, 14, 28, 35, 49, 58, 61, 99, J De Belser 11, 15, 21, 40, 69, 92, N De Weerd-Berckmoes 26, 46, 68, 74, 79, Van Oeckel B & N 29, 41, 72, 78, 84, Thys N & R 2, 3, 18, 20...
The south of the country starts with Verspreet-Muntoni 6, Mauroy-Tondeur 44, P Dupuis 73, Pierre R & D 91...
Zone B4, 1499 youngsters
Combi Faes-Wils from Mol won the zone and was ranked 84 nationally, the only one in the top 100. At the limit of the pole, 808 m for the last classified, the zone loses 164 prizes to the national. Only 1 pigeon out of 7 entered made it to the nationals.
The top 100 includes some prize series. This is the case of Knaepen D & B classified 10, 28, 29, 33, 42, 84, 96, P Bours 19, 34, 56, 60, 81, 91, J Vanwinkel 17, 21, 30, 37, 57, S Brugmans 7, 8, 12, 66, 72...
The spoils are meagre for the south of the country with Massart-Salu 31, 83, 87, M Lagneaux 67, A Jacob 97...
Zone C, 894 youngsters
First place goes to T Weytjens from Zutendaal who is 733 national. The zone classifies only 73 pigeons in the national, that is to say 1 pigeon of 12 engaged.
In the prices by 10, we will retain T Weytjens classified 1, 4, 9, 14, 16, 21, 42, 71, 75, M Maes 2, 5, 45, 47, 48, 70, 80, Roox H & B 24, 25, 35, 54, 56, 72...
The Walloon colonies arrive with G Delfosse 7, Henry A & M 29, 32, Schur-Staryk 31, 55, JP Caro 34, O Aallam 49...


 

A few figures

Winner's speed, 1535.4491 m

Gap between the first 2, 12 seconds

Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1448.4279 m

Speed of the last classified runner, 1054.2935 m

Duration of the competition, 2h16'11''.

Average gap between 2 pigeons, 2.4 seconds

The competition was difficult to close in some areas. The heat, omnipresent, had a lot to do with it.

National Top 10 for old 

1. Team HOOYMANS WVL from Desselgem, 1527.7934 m

2. D Vermassen de Gavere, 1527.7670 m
3. 4. 6. 7. de Smeyter-Restiaen de Melden, 1513,9517, 1510,3405, 1495,0223 and 1493,1793 m
5. B Penne de Nederhasselt, 1500,0439 m
8. A Goeteyn de Deinze, 1487,3635 m
9. O Poussart de Vaulx-lez-Chimay, 1483.7707 m
10. Jacobs-Kleinzonen de Zaffelare, 1477,6803 m
One place was awarded to a Hennuyer in the top 10. The old timers only achieved the sixth highest speed in the competition, but it should be noted that there were 6 times fewer of them. The top 100 speeds ended with 81 young and 19 old.
Although 2 Flanders still dominated the competition, these 2 provinces lost some feathers, mainly West Flanders in favour of Antwerp and Hainaut. The top 100 was shared between East Flanders, which took 40 prizes, West Flanders and Antwerp 16, Hainaut 14, Flemish Brabant 9, Walloon Brabant 3 and Limburg 2.
De Smeyter-Restiaen has already made it four in a row in the top 10, finishing 3, 4, 6, 7, and 29, 49, 53, 84. The top 100 also included some clear rounds, including the 1/1s of Jacobs-Kleinzonen ranked 10, Van den Elsen D & B 60, L Vandriessche 62, F Vandemeulebroecke 71 and the 2/2 of J Van der Auwera ranked 36 and 89.
On the Walloon side, we find O Poussart 9, 30, 46, G Fascella 14, 52, K Saudoyez 31, Pierre R & D 40...


 

First finishes by province and EPR
West Flanders, Team Hooymans WVL from Desselgem, 1527.7934 m, 1 national
East Flanders, D Vermassen de Gavere, 1527.7670 m, 2 nat.
EPR HBW, O Poussart de Vaulx-lez-Chimay "H", 1483,7707 m, 9 nat (Pierre R & D de Bossut-Gottechain "BW", 1432,6320 m, 40 nat)
Antwerp, B Lambrechts de Berlaar, 1471,1640 m, 11 nat. 
Flemish Brabant, Hoogstijns-Carmeliet de Ternat, 1468,6547 m, 12 nat.
Limburg, M Creten de St Trond, 1428,9840 m , 44 nat.
EPR LNL, T Lottin de Mariembourg "N", 1345.6969 m, 182 nat (D Lemestré de Geer "Lg", 1297.2159 m, 310 nat and D Maucq de On "Lx", 1107.8892 m, excl. nat) 
Three provinces are in the national top 10 and only LNL starts outside the top 100.

 

The zones in brief
Zone A1, 158 old
First place went to S Loyson of Handzame, who was 51 nationally. The zone offers itself 5 places in the national top 100 and finishes with a deficit of 6 prizes.
The small number of pigeons does not encourage long series of prizes. However, in the prizes per 10, Dekeyser W, J & H ranked 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, and the 1/1 Descheemaecker-Vanhauwaert ranked 7.
Zone A2, 209 old
National and zone victory for Team Hoouymans WVL from Desselgem. The top 12 placed in the national top 100 and the zone closed with a bonus of 8 prizes.
The longest series in the 10-prize category goes to Team Platteeuw, with 3, 8, 11, 14, 15, 21, F Vandemeulebroecke 1/1 10 and Verleije D & A 2/3 7, 18...
The south of the country comes into view with M Casaert 9, 12...
Zone A3, 247 old
D Vermassen de Gavere, 2 national, wins the zone with 26 pigeons in the national top 100. She finishes with 11 extra prizes.
Price by 10, we have De Smeyter-Restiaen ranked 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 15, 16, 22, while Jacobs-Kleinzonen 6 and L Vandriessche 18 make a clear round, 1/1.
On the Walloon side, K Saudoyez 13, B Defrenne 20, 24...
Zone B1, 256 old
Zone B1 was led by B Penne from Nederhasselt, who was national number 5. The zone finishes with 29 more prizes than the national.
The series in the 10-prize category is summed up by Team Noel-Willockx ranked 9, 13, 14, 26. On the other hand, we have the 1/1 of Van den Elsen D & B 11.
Murez-Marichal 23 is the only Walloon in the 10s.
Zone B2, 360 old
B Lambrechts de Berlaar wins the zone and is ranked 11 nationally. The last 16 ranked in the zone fall outside the national.
Among the colonies most represented in the prices by 10, let us note Hoogstijns-Carmeliet classified 2, 5, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 29, 31, G Fascella 3, 7, 8, 24, 30, 32, 36... Let us also retain the 1/1 of P Roziers 25.
Among the Walloon colonies, we also have L Dubart 9, Canion-Sobkowiak 15, H Marsille 19, B Colapietro 23...
Zone B3, 484 old
W Heylen from Itegem leads the zone and is ranked 16 nationally. The zone collected 25 additional prizes at the national level.
The longest series stops at 6 awards in the 10 awards, from Reijnen-Bolton ranked 3, 14, 18, 28, 34, 41 and C Marit ranked 10, 33, 36, 42, 45, 46. Also note the 2/2 from J Van der Auwera 4, 13.
The south of the country also appears with Pierre R & D 5, Putseys-Patte 7, 31, 32, Verspreet-Muntoni 11, R Roch 15, 29, Charles-Tordeur 24...
Zone B4, 329 old
O Poussart de Vaulx-lez-Chimay takes the lead in the zone and makes 9 nationals. The first 9 are in the top 100 and the last 3 classified are out of the national.
There were some fine series such as J Vanwinkel ranked 2, 8, 10, 13, 22, 27, 29, 33, Team Hooymans.be 3, 5, 12, 19, 21, 28, O Poussart 1, 4, 7, 11, 30...
On the Walloon side, we also have T Lottin 20...
Zone C, 288 old
T Weytjens de Zutendaal dominates the zone and is 85 national, the only one in the top 100. As for the late closing, it results in the loss of 50 prizes, i.e. the classification of only 22 pigeons out of 288 entered.

 

A few figures
Speed of the winner, 1527.7934 m
Gap between the first 2, 0.3 seconds
Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1385.2192 m
Speed of the last classified, 1186.9557 m
Duration of the competition, 1h28'02''.
Average gap between 2 pigeons, 9.1 seconds
M Philippe