Vandenheede Freddy & Jacques (Huise): 1st National Cahors 3,156 old birds

There Are Few Certainties in Today’s Uncertain World, But One Thing Is Certain: Gebroeders Vandenheede Keep Winning National Victories

There are only a few certainties left in today’s uncertain world, but one of them is that Gebroeders Vandenheede from Huise, East Flanders, achieve a national victory every year. Last weekend, they struck again from Cahors, bringing their remarkable tally of national wins to 30. An unprecedented achievement in international pigeon racing!

A Top-Class Performance

We have witnessed many extraordinary performances from brothers Freddy and Jacques Vandenheede over the years. Give them a record, and they will break it—that much is certain. I even have the impression that the thrill of pushing boundaries and breaking records in pigeon racing is what motivates them to go the extra mile. I base this on the fact that, at the start of many seasons, I have asked them about their new challenge, and by the end of the season we can only admire the fact that they have achieved it.

Speaking of admiration, let’s take a look at last weekend’s Cahors race. The distance to Huise was approximately 730 km. The first part of the route was flown in calm conditions with no wind, while later the wind turned westerly. Among the 3,156 pigeons entered in the national race, 28 belonged to the Vandenheede brothers.

Their national result was truly impressive:

National Cahors – 3,156 pigeons:
1st, 13th, 17th, 26th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 43rd, 44th, 48th, 76th, 92nd and 24 prizes in total.

The pigeons were released at 7:00 a.m., and Vandenheede clocked the national winner at 4:40:06 p.m., achieving a velocity of 1,258.90 m/min. It then took another 12 minutes before the second pigeon arrived, but after that no fewer than nine Cahors pigeons were recorded within a span of 14 minutes (4:52, 4:53, 4:59, 5:00, 5:01, 5:01, 5:04, 5:04 and 5:06 p.m.).

It is worth emphasizing that we are not talking about a sprint or middle-distance race here, but a 730 km long-distance event, with only 28 pigeons entered.

A Hen Takes the Honors

The winning pigeon was the hen “Maxine” (B24-4141188), a beautiful blue hen. During the first two middle-distance races of the season, she was still rearing large youngsters in the nest. Once the youngsters were weaned, she was raced on the pure widowhood system.

Before the season started, she completed six training tosses, after which her race program included Arras, Noyon, Écouen, Valpuiseaux, Orléans, Vierzon, Bourges, Limoges, and finally Cahors.

From Limoges, Maxine returned home the following day. As her owners expected Cahors to be a particularly demanding race, she and her loft mates were given a full week of rest. And when we say rest, we mean exactly that—no training tosses whatsoever.

The national victory was decided by the narrowest of margins. “De Michael” (B22-4063325), raced by Jo Bauters (Gavere), was flying in the same slipstream and was clocked at an average speed of 1,258.70 m/min, earning him 2nd National.

As this result clearly shows, every second counts—even in long-distance racing. The podium places can be decided by only a few seconds.

Congratulations

Freddy and Jacques, congratulations on your 30th national victory. We are already curious to see when number 31 will drop out of the sky.

Stefan Mertens