A dream comes true!

Once again, the history of pigeon racing has crowned someone with the highest honour a marathon fancier can achieve: winning the Barcelona race, the classic among all classics. Whether at club, provincial, national or even international level, such a victory always tastes sweet and fills every pigeon fancier's heart with joy and pride. This is now also the case for the Barbulescu family from Zwevezele, where a slender hen brought both herself and the family the highest glory by winning the International Barcelona 2026 race. Both the first three letters of Barcelona and the family name of Nicu are "Bar"… perhaps it was an omen that one day this could happen. But it takes much more than just three matching letters. This victory is the result of dedication, relentless commitment and years of building a pigeon team capable of excelling in races of this calibre.

A little history

Nicu (49 years) was born in Romania, in the region bordering Bulgaria, and already developed a passion for pigeon racing during his youth. Later in life he came into contact with the Italian champion Giovanni Lodivici, who taught him a great deal about pigeons. In 2013 he moved to Belgium and first worked as a caretaker for Hubert Debaene in Beernem, where he became familiar with Belgian pigeon racing. Later he also came into contact with other great names in the Belgian marathon pigeon world, such as Frans Labeeuw, Emiel Denys and Noël Peiren, who were always willing to share their experience and knowledge with him. Long-distance pigeons from the Herbots breeding lofts also found their way to him, especially descendants of the Barcelona King line. Nicu is an animal lover, and working with animals gives him peace of mind and great satisfaction. It also teaches patience, because rushing things with pigeons usually ends badly. He officially started on his own in 2018. When he moved to Belgium, it had always been his intention to compete independently in marathon races. Through patience and knowledge, he built a strong colony based on the old marathon bloodlines of Frans Labeeuw (Stichelbaut), Emiel Denys, Noël Peiren and Herbots Brothers (Barcelona King). These pigeons still form the solid foundation of his colony, which has now reached the ultimate reward: victory in Barcelona. Nicu mainly focuses on perseverance, true determination and fighting spirit. Beautiful pigeons in the hand are merely an added bonus; for him it is character and performance that matter when selecting breeders and racers. In his beautiful home with garden in Zwevezele, he built all the lofts himself, and they are extremely neat and highly functional.  He has already achieved many excellent results over the years, which encouraged him to focus more and more on the Barcelona race. This year he entered 37 pigeons, clearly showing the importance Barcelona has gained within his racing programme. On Saturday, July 4th, Nicu already had 22 of his 37 pigeons back home by the evening, proving the quality of this team and confirming that it possesses the potential to compete at the very highest level in this race. He basketed 18 hens and 19 cocks. Nationally he won 21 prizes from 37 entered, including 1st, 7th, 41st, 93rd, etc., a result that can only be described as phenomenal.

Barcelona 2026

It had already become clear several days beforehand that the 2026 edition would go down in history as an extremely demanding race. During the previous days and weeks, temperatures throughout Spain, France and much of Western Europe had reached historically high levels. Central France had turned into a true furnace, while the light headwind made the race even tougher. The pigeons were liberated at 7:45 a.m. Another factor that had to be taken into account at the release was the extensive forest fires in southern France. Everyone could only hope that the affected area would not be too wide and would not seriously hinder the pigeons during their journey north. Expectations were that perhaps a few pigeons might reach northern France on Friday evening, but this proved not to be the case. Further north, and especially from Belgium onwards, the wind gradually shifted from north-east to a light south-west breeze, slightly improving the race conditions. A total of 16,278 pigeons competed internationally, with the largest entries coming from the Netherlands and Belgium.

At 6:09:58 a.m. it was bingo in Zwevezele

Many people were astonished when they looked at the arrival list early in the morning and saw a pigeon clocked in Zwevezele (Belgium), while not a single pigeon had yet been reported anywhere in France or elsewhere. Nicu had got up at 5 a.m. and noticed that there were still no arrivals in northern France. He decided to lie down for a little while again. His surprise was therefore immense when, shortly after 6 a.m., his phone signalled the arrival of a Barcelona pigeon. And then all emotions broke loose... overwhelmed with emotion... wondering whether everything could really be true... checking two or three times to make sure the pigeon was actually there and that it was indeed a Barcelona racer... and yes, there she was. The three-year-old hen carrying ring number BE23-3066267, who from now on will be known as Barcelona Queen, was quietly catching her breath in her nest box after this extraordinary achievement. She had been raced on the nest and was incubating eggs of about ten days. Before Barcelona she had competed in the National Bourges and National Argenton races, giving her the necessary preparation kilometres for this magnificent achievement. Before Barcelona the pigeons had also been taken twice for short training tosses in Nicu's own vehicle. She is a medium-sized hen, rather slender, with an excellent wing and a very expressive eye. In the hand she showed absolutely no signs of exhaustion and had recovered remarkably well from her effort. Her pedigree represents Nicu's true marathon family. On her father's side she is a cross between the Labeeuw (Stichelbaut) pigeons and the Emiel Denys bloodline. This breeding cock has already produced national top performers from Dax and Perpignan. The dam of the Barcelona winner belongs to Nicu's original family, based on the famous Barcelona King line (Herbots – Kipp und Söhne). The daily care is extremely precise and meticulous; Nicu leaves nothing to chance. The feeding programme consists of the Versele-Laga range, supplemented with vitamins and Belgasol. Veterinary supervision is in the hands of Dr. Wim Boddaert, although visits to the vet are kept to a minimum. Careful observation and intervening only when necessary form the basis of his philosophy. The cocks, raced on traditional widowhood, normally train twice a day, while the hens train once around midday. He prefers to keep them flying for about thirty minutes, although this is not always easy because of their nesting instinct or desire to be with their partner. That this system works is proven by the phenomenal result achieved. The old hens are raced on the nest, paired with yearling cocks. A number of cocks are also raced on the nest, with both partners being entered, while others are raced on widowhood. It is a real puzzle to organise and manage, but that is precisely why Nicu spends his days—despite getting very little sleep—looking after his pigeons.

Results 2025

To illustrate the outstanding quality of the pigeons in this loft, below are the results achieved during the 2025 international marathon season:

4th National Narbonne – 864 km – 4,021 pigeons
1st National Narbonne Old Hens
4th International Narbonne Old & Yearling Hens – 864 km – 4,807 pigeons
1st Provincial Narbonne – 864 km – 690 pigeons
10th International Narbonne – 864 km – 10,087 pigeons
1st Club Narbonne
1st Club Barcelona
1st Club Perpignan
7th Best Barcelona National Pigeon over 4 years (2022–2025)
15th Best Barcelona National Pigeon over 4 years (2022–2025)
18th Best Barcelona International Pigeon over 4 years (2022–2025)
33rd Best Barcelona International Pigeon over 4 years (2022–2025)
7th Inter-West Flanders Marathon Championship Old Birds
78th National Barcelona – 1,057 km – 5,819 pigeons
12th Provincial Barcelona – 1,057 km – 1,002 pigeons
80th National Dax – 880 km – 2,516 pigeons
25th Provincial Dax – 880 km – 784 pigeons
103rd National Agen – 812 km – 4,839 pigeons
17th Provincial Agen – 812 km – 1,004 pigeons
118th National Perpignan – 938 km – 3,522 pigeons
10th Provincial Perpignan – 938 km – 721 pigeons
633rd International Perpignan – 938 km – 11,866 pigeons

In Zwevezele, this is a story of patient building on solid foundations. A conscious search was made for pigeons capable of mastering the very longest distances. These bloodlines were moulded into Nicu's own system, which places the emphasis on endurance, fighting spirit and natural health. The daily care is of the highest standard and, above all, driven by an enormous amount of motivation. After several outstanding performances in previous seasons, this has now culminated in the ultimate dream victory: 1st International Barcelona.

For some time to come, Nicu, his wife and their two daughters will undoubtedly be walking on air, overwhelmed by this magnificent success. There is no greater motivation for the future than an achievement of this magnitude.

Congratulations from the entire Herbots Team!

Geert Dhaenens

BE 23-3066267  
1st International Barcelona 16,278 birds
1st Int.Nat hens Barcelona

Distance : 1075,506km
Arrival time : 06:09:58
Velocity : 1082,44m/min