Analyze Narbonne International

The yearlings are invited to take part in two internationals. After Agen on 30 June, Narbonne is already closing the gap on their 2023 journey into the big time.

The number of yearlings has hardly changed, at most a bonus of about 100 pigeons. On the other hand, the number of older pigeons has fallen by more than 700. The differences by province and EPR can be significant between the 2 years. While most of the differences are less than 10%, others are more significant. Among the negative values, we find losses of 26% for Limburg, 21% for HBW and 18% for Flemish Brabant. Antwerp lost 19% in yearlings and 13% in old horses. In terms of progress, HBW reached 36% in yearlings.

After two postponements due to poor visibility and heavy rain, the pigeons were released on Sunday at 8am. At the time of release, the temperature in Narbonne was already 23°C with a moderate westerly wind. The flight line was favourable with a steady S.W. to Westerly wind.

Speeds were particularly low compared with those encountered on the middle and long distance. The distance and the shifting winds on the flight line had something to do with this difference.

Top 10 old nationals

1. M Bertrand de Francorchamps, 1243.7956 m

2. Cousaert-Willems de Maarke Kerkem, 1203.6448 m
3. Bonmariage-Masson d'Ouffet, 1203.2329 m
4. J Goose de Houffalize, 1201.2001 m
5. JL Beaudoint de Marche-en-Famenne, 1200.8560 m
6. M De Boe de Schendelbeke, 1199.4350 m
7. Herbots J & R de Halle-Booienhoven, 1196.7560 m
8. J Van Waeyenberghe from Hemelveerdegem, 1196,0107 m
9. C Loviny de Sommière, 1194.9960 m
10. W Van Hekken de Lier, 1194.3072 m
Unlike Vierzon and Souillac, which were played on the same weekend, Narbonne did not prefer the province of Limburg and diversified the top 10 with 6 different provinces.
All the provinces and PRTs shared the top 100, with the exception of Walloon Brabant, which was split between Flanders with 56 prizes and Wallonia with 44. East Flanders has 28 awards in the top 100, Luxembourg 13, Liège and Hainaut 11, Namur and West Flanders 9, Antwerp 8, Flemish Brabant 6 and Limburg 5.
The top 100 is highly diversified, with 83 different colonies, leaving little room for repeat offenders. Among these were D Philippe ranked 19, 31, 37, 92 for a superb 4/8, T Masure 21, 42, 45 with a 3/4. There were also clear rounds such as the 1/1 of Herbots J & R 7, B Steveninck 28, De Smet P & O 47, E De Groot 56, G Ceusters 87 and the 2/2 of Quintin-Pellegrini classified 66 and 84.
 

First finishes by province and EPR

EPR LNL, M Bertrand de Francorchamps «Lg», 1243,7956 m, 1 national (J Goose de Houffalize «Lx», 1201,2001 m, 4 nat et C Loviny de Sommière «N», 1194,9960 m, 9 nat)

Flandre Orientale, Cousaert-Willems de Maarke, 1203,6448 m, 2 nat.

Brabant Flamand, Herbots J & R de Halle-Booienhoven, 1196,7560 m, 7 nat.

Anvers, W Van Hekken de Lier, 1194,3072 m, 10 nat.

Limbourg, M Knaepen de Nieuwerkerken, 1193,0437 m, 12 nat.

EPR HBW, M Lejeune de Estinnes-au-Val «H», 1192,9375 m, 13 nat (C Marit de Vieusart «BW», 1100,5076 m, 221 nat)  

Flandre Occidentale, Pollin M & G de Snellegem, 1167,4179 m, 29 nat.

Six vainqueurs provinciaux se partagent le top 10, mais le Brabant Wallon est détaché du top 100.

The zones 

Zone A1, 1768 old
Cousaert G & W from Maarkedal wins the zone and is ranked 2 national. Zone A1 places 30 pigeons in the top 100. On the other hand, it loses some feathers at the end of the ranking since the last 47 have a speed lower than the red lantern of the national.
A few amateurs feel comfortable in the top 100: H Casaert 38, 55, 62, 64, 72, T Masure 3, 8, 9, Team Hooymans WVL 23, 61, 63, M Ravelingien 66, 79, 82, G Chandaras 53, 70, 90, Van de Walle M & F 11, 58, 91, De Smeyter-Restiaen 28, 46, 96, W Dekens 41, 42, 98...
In addition to H Casaert and T Masure, the south of the country also boasts R Jean 14, P Dubois 20, C Cuvelier 30...
Zone B1, 2483 old
The top prize went to M De Boe from Schendelkebe, who was ranked 6th nationally. The first 40 classified are present in the national top 100 and they are 35 pigeons more to integrate the national.
F Michaux has the longest winning streak with 8, 31, 74, 83. He is followed by W Kumpen ranked 10, 60, 74. We should also note the 1/1s of Herbots J & R 2, B Steveninck 17, E De Groot 25, G Ceusters 34...
In addition to F Michaux, the south of the country can count on M Lejeune 7, P Molle 15, Canard-Martin 18, B D'Hondt 23, Decendre-Charlier 24...
Zone C, 749 old
National and zone victory for M Bertrand de Francorchamps. All 3 zones have representatives in the national top 10. Zone C has 5, 30 in the top 100 and can rely on 11 more pigeons in the national.
Among the prizes per 10, we have Georis O & B ranked 29, 32, 33, 37, 45, D Philippe 6, 9, 12, 28, D Ballmann 8, 40, 57, 62, P Campinne 36, 46, 53, 63, M Bertrand 1, 15, 35, 74... 

A few figures
Winner's speed, 1243.7956 m
Gap between the first 2, 22'39
Speed of the 100th place finisher, 1136.3046 m
Speed of the last classified, 836.1012 m
Duration of the competition, 5h31'04''
Average gap between 2 pigeons, 15.9 seconds
 

Top 10 national yearlings

1. M SOROKOSZ from Mettet, 1227.9123 m

2. De Keyser- Dethier de Soumagne, 1221,6935 m
3. C Loviny de Sommière, 1217.6433 m
4. A Feck de Halanzy, 1209.7169 m
5. Rans J & S de Wijgmaal, 1208.7189 m
6. P Molle de Mettet, 1208.0430 m
7. Lemmens-Czarnota de Balen, 1206.9781 m
8. Hok Rommelaere de Herent, 1206.2186 m
9. Team Hooymans.be de Mol, 1195.5126 m
10. Noel W & S from Gijzegem, 1193.7033 m

 

No fewer than 6 provinces shared the top 10, including the 3 EPR LNL provinces.
Yearlings did not record the highest speed of the competition, but they did take 8 of the top 10.
The distribution of the top 100 does not really correspond to the distribution of the national top 100 yearlings. Flanders has a total of 61 prizes, divided between East Flanders (24), Antwerp (17), Flemish Brabant (14), West Flanders and Limburg (3). Wallonia has 39, with Liège 14, Luxembourg 9, Hainaut and Namur 6, and Walloon Brabant 4.
Long series of awards are not really relevant. We shall simply mention M Humblet ranked 22, 33, 57, 88, Hok Rommelaere 8, 12, 16, Noel W & S 10, 42, 59, D Putman 46, 70, 74, Delhove-Paesman-Bouffa 61, 69, 77... We shall also mention the 1/1 of JC Lambert 61, 
The Walloon colonies occupy the first 4 places, half of the top 10 and continue with D Ballmann 14, Leturcq-Crommelinck 18, M Humblet 22, J Goose 24, M Sorokosz 27...


First arrivals by province and EPR
EPR LNL, M Sorokosz de Devant-les-Bois "N", 1227.9123 m, 1 national (De Keyser- Dethier de Soumagne "Lg", 1221.6935 m, 2 nat and A Feck de Halanzy "Lx", 1209.7169 m, 4 nat)
Flemish Brabant, Rans J & S de Wijgmaal, 1208,7189, 5 nat.
Antwerp, Lemmens-Czarnota de Balen, 1206,9781 m, 7 nat.
East Flanders, Noel W & S de Gijzegem, 1193,7033 m, 10 nat.
West Flanders, F Bracke de Waregem, 1174,1182 m, 17 nat.
EPR HBW, Leturcq-Crommelinck de Roucourt "H", 1172,6958 m, 18 nat (Delhove-Paesman- Bouffa de Sart-Dames-Avelines "BW", 1138,9947 m, 61 nat) 
Limburg, F Streel de Vreren, 1161.7159 m, 30 nat.
All the provinces are in the top 100.

 

The zones in brief
Zone A1, 2156 yearlings
The provincial winner of West Flanders and 17 national, F Bracke de Waregem, wins the A1 zone which counts 20 pigeons in the national top 100, but which loses 77 places in the national.
The top 100 produced a number of fine prize series. This is the case of H Casaert ranked 8, 11, 23, 28, 38, 46, 64, 70, 80, 83, 93, E Meirlaen 13, 24, 34, 52, 58, 74, 86, F Bracke 1, 36, 42, 51, 91, 99, R Jean 25, 55, 72, 78, 97...
On the Walloon side, in addition to H Casaert and R Jean, we have Leturcq-Crommelinck 2, Defoort-Thiriau 17, 27, Demaret-Marichal 22, Hellin-Houze 26...
Zone B1, 3135 yearlings
The national top 10 already includes 7 pigeons from zone B1, including one from M Sorokosz de Mettet who takes the top step. The first 53 classified are in the national top 100, while 47 pigeons are added to the national.
The series of prizes in the top 100 are not very significant. Noel W & S classified 7, 22, 30, 54, 56, K Mortelmans 26, 49, 67, 85, Rans J & S 2, 76, 92, 93, E Limbourg 19, 61, 63, G De Coninck 14, 27, 79, M Van den Eeckhout 28, 43, 90...
Zone C, 809 yearlings
Victory goes to De Keyser-Dethier de Soumagne, classified 2 national. The zone has 27 pigeons in the national top 100 and has 29 additional national prizes.
The prizes per 10 include many repeat winners such as D Putman ranked 13, 22, 24, 34, 50, 51, 55, M Willems ranked 12, 57, 63, 68, 76, 78, 81, M Schreurs 45, 54, 60, 73, 74, M Humblet 5, 8, 18, 26, R Brisbois 15, 27, 35, 38...
Zone C is dominated by the Walloon region, which occupies the top 6 places. The Flemish top 3 is made up of F Streel ranked 7, 10, M Willems 12...

 

Some figures
Speed of the winner, 1227.9123 m
Gap between the first 2, 3'22
Speed of the 100°, 1121.2714 m
Speed of the last classified, 9h45'43''
Duration of the competition, 7h00'20''
Average gap between 2 pigeons, 16.6 seconds

 

International in a few words
Overall, international numbers fell from 26,148 to 24,650 pigeons. Belgium remains the biggest supplier of pigeons to this competition with 11,100 entries, followed by France with 6,475, Holland 5,798, Germany 1,145 and Luxembourg 132 pigeons.
A number of things stood out. On the one hand, the speeds made it possible to note relatively early, which did not favour the pigeons to profit from the advantage of the neutralisation, allowing a top 100 in all transparency. On the other hand, the competition went very well, giving Belgium victory in the yearling competition.

 

The old international

Germany, A HARTMAN from Lahnstein, 1 international

Belgium, M Bertrand from Francorchamps, 3 internat.

Holland, F Keijbets de Langgraaf, 4 internat.

France, S Viorel de Siersthal, 22 boarding.

Luxembourg, P Figueiredo de Niederfeulen, 70 boarders.

The provisional top 100 is shared between Belgium with 59 prizes, Holland 16, France 14, Germany 10 and Luxembourg 1.

Only 4 Dutch pigeons, ranked in the top 100, were found on the second day of flying.

International yearlings

Belgium, M SOROKOSZ from Mettet, 1 international

Germany, Maurer L, J, D, P from Massweiler, 3 internationals

France, D Maurice de Malroy, 14 internat.

Luxembourg, F Rohen de Bivange, 36 boarders.

Holland, Van Schijndel & Z de Geffen, 145 boarders.

The Belgian victory continues with 77 prizes in the provisional top 100, compared with 12 for France, 9 for Germany and 2 for Luxembourg.

M Philippe