Platteau Ante and Tom… they're practically winning first prizes like it's nothing. Not a weekend, or rather, almost no race, goes by without the ring number of some Platteau pigeon being placed behind the first place. We said it last year, and we'll say it again with a certain admiration in our voices: "What a pleasure it must be to be able to race with the pigeons like that. They are, and they simply remain, the "Wizards of St. Catherine Lombeek."

For the second year in a row: General Champion Noyon Sector 1

For the second year in a row, 1st General Champion Noyon Sector 1… easier said than done, as the competition in this competition is at an unprecedented level. Sector 1 is a speed league where Pierre Beyl (winner of 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Sprint Young Birds 2025) and Yannick De Ridder-Bruno Vandenbrande (winner of 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Sprint Old Birds 2025 – 1st National Champion KBDB Sprint 2025) have made their mark. But these aren't the only champions who cross swords there every week. Fanciers like Claeskens Jo, Van Loock-De Laet, Nechelput-Cornet, Peetroons Hans, Van Roy Geert, Schaekels-De Loecker, etc. shouldn't be underestimated.

In other words… the battle is fierce every week. When the number of victories was calculated at the end of September, the twin brothers couldn't believe their eyes. To be sure it was correct, a new battery was put in the calculator and the total was redone... 81 victories! Granted, the doubles of the overall results were also included, but those are victories too! It's not logical that if you clock first place locally, you'll also win the top prize when the results from other clubs are added. On the contrary... it commands respect when you also come out on top against stiff competition.

But that's not all; at the national level, we also find the names of Platteau Ante and Tom in the KBDB championships. They will soon be celebrated as:
4th National Ace Pigeon KBDB Young Pigeons Sprint
12th National Champion KBDB Short Middle Distance Young Pigeons

Born to Win

The sight and sound of whole strings of pigeons from Quievrain whizzing by still gives them the shivers and provides goosebumps every week. Their childhood was filled with pigeons. They certainly didn't get carte blanche from their parents. It took a lot of nagging to be allowed to set up their first pigeon loft in the garden. At the age of ten, their first winged friends arrived. Meanwhile, the two had devoured quite a few books and peered over the hedge at their neighbor's, a pigeon fancier, to see how they were supposed to care for the little creatures. Mom and dad watched with bated breath; everything had to be spotless. Initially, the pigeons weren't allowed to race, but after a lot of nagging from Mom and Dad, they were allowed to send them to Quievrain. If they managed to clock a pigeon within 40 minutes, they were allowed to enter their pigeons in further races. Mom and Dad were convinced it was impossible, but that weekend the wind blew hard from the southwest. They patiently awaited that first arrival. And sure enough, the first one appeared on the horizon in a mere 37 minutes. Tom and Ante were overjoyed, but for mom and dad Platteau, the joy was much less. But a promise is a promise, and so the duo set off on their journey into pigeon racing.

From that date on, they searched everywhere for pigeons to strengthen the loft. They received many, not all of the same quality, but fortunately, there were also some that genuinely wanted to help the twins. For example, Tom and Ante received a pair from Hilaire van Schelvergem (Ternat) for their First Communion. Among them was 'Hilaire', who immediately developed into a fantastic racer and later became the foundation sire of the loft.

A good few years later, they moved. Tom and Ante had met the love of their lives, and a new location had to be found. They both bought a beautiful house next door to each other, and the pigeon lofts appeared on the horizon. This allowed the twin brothers to continue expanding their colony. Various breeds now populate the lofts. Besides the aforementioned progenitor of Hilaire van Schelvergem, we also find the lineage of Roger Schauwers, Van Nieuwenborgh Maria, Vergotte Astere, Marcel Aelbrecht, Van Roy Geert, Herbots Brothers (very successful with the "Olympic Rico" and "Nationaal 1" breeding lines), Van Den Eynde Louis, Ulrich Lemmens, Iwens Tom, and Janssens Eddy. Maarten De Mot, their neighbor in Wambeek who helped establish the rubber bands in their early years, was also a key figure in building their success.

But the tandem pays very little attention to breeds and pedigrees. They want results on paper. Those who don't perform are irrevocably eliminated. A pigeon that doesn't fly seven times per ten per year has a major problem. They get a full year of opportunity, and then the statistics are examined. Pigeons are marked, and then a very strict selection process follows. No consideration is given to origins at that point.

This strict selection is paying off, because the Platteau pigeons are now proving they can more than hold their own on races ranging from 50 to 500 km.

We can't hide it...we love racing pigeons.

 

Only with hens

The brothers share the care of the pigeons. Yet, each has their own specific task. Tom is responsible for the pigeon motivation, and Ante handles the administration and knows every pigeon by heart. Sometimes they even swear and curse at each other. However, the fantastic collaboration between the brothers is undeniable, given the fantastic performances they achieve together. They own about 25 breeding pairs. "Did you know that our breeding cocks are also used as partners for one racing hen or another during the season?" Ante quickly adds. "Normally, we breed two rounds from the breeders. But again, a cock might be paired with a racing hen for the first round, and then paired with a so-called breeding hen for the second round. A lot of this is based on gut feeling."
They also race about 75 racing pigeons, all of which are hens. About 150 youngsters are tested and selected each year. The racing hens are raced on widowhood (with a stay-at-home partner), and with the young pigeons, they use the "sliding door method." The young cocks are raced here.
The approximately 75 hens are housed in three different sections. Some (the proven racers) have bred early with a breeding cock, while the others haven't had a single nest before the start of the season. There's no second pairing either. "That's all too much work for two people who work hard every day," Tom says, defending their system.
Anyone who knows Ante and Tom knows that the pigeons fly every week. "Rest" isn't in their vocabulary. Achieving top results in sprint, middle-distance, and extreme middle-distance races requires enormous discipline and passion.
During the week, the racing hens are housed in a section with perches. Despite the option of co-lofting, they don't experience many hens breeding with each other. This is perhaps the result of years of selection, during which the energetic hens were consistently eliminated. In the evening they go to their cage through a narrow passage to spend the night.

Care During the Week

Normally, the pigeons never train in the morning. Unless one of the two brothers is on leave, the racing hens are allowed to fly in circles. If they can't train, they are fed at 6:30 AM and their water is changed.
Once the workday is over, the racing hens can train at 5:45 PM. Normally, such a group of hens easily trains for an hour. After their training, they are called inside, and it's the young pigeons' turn to come out. This is already around 7 PM.
Once the young pigeons are raced using the sliding door system, the young hens train along with the old and yearling racing hens, and the young cocks train in the evening at 7 PM.
At basketing for the middle-distance and extreme middle-distance races (Thursday), the participating hens are simply picked from the loft. They don't see a cock. The hens flying the sprint races get to see their cocks very briefly before basketing.
Upon returning, the cocks wait for the hens. On Saturday, the sprint pigeons arrive first, followed by the others. The hens are separated from their partners based on instinct. Everything depends on how smoothly the race goes. However, the hens don't stay with their partners for longer than three hours.

Medically, they don't overdo it, administering a paratyphoid treatment in the fall and visiting Dr. Vandercruyssen (Oosterzele) before the start of the season. His advice is followed, but last season, the man in the white smock didn't have a single comment.

During the 2024 season, the pigeons were treated for tricho every three weeks for two or three days (the brothers don't use the yellow drops) and were given two three-day treatments with Soludox. Apart from the mandatory vaccinations, nothing else was given.

Regarding feed, the brothers don't have a preference for a particular brand. Price/quality is decisive, and the manufacturer doesn't matter. In the 2025 season, mixtures from Van Roabeys, Paloma, and Aidi were on the menu. Upon returning home, they'll have a racing mixture, and afterward, the daily diet will be lightened (purification mix and super diet), before increasing the feed towards basketing. "Another difficult thing to explain," says Ante, "pigeons that race in different disciplines and are therefore basketed on different days are in the same loft. I think our results in the longer middle distance are a bit lower because we can't feed them as they should. We don't want to feed the speed pigeons too quickly, and on the other hand, those that are basketed earlier need to be sufficiently fueled. Anyway... there's nothing we can do about it... I'll say it again... when you're both working every day, it's not that easy to get it 100% perfect. Speed ​​is still our thing, and for that discipline, we already do everything necessary. The others just have to adapt to our working methods."

For by-products, we use products from the Natural, Paloma, and Schroëder ranges. "By-products are best administered in the drinking water," says Tom, "if you mix too much into the feed, the pigeons eat less, and we don't like that."

The numerous references prove that Ante and Tom's pigeons are made of excellent genes. Pigeons that these two passionate fanciers push to the limit, resulting in fantastic results. And as already mentioned… they don't like paper pigeons; pigeons with pedigrees are less important. Here, results are the only consideration. Therefore, these pigeons are a valuable addition to any loft, as they have the qualities to deliver top performances from 60km to 500km.

Results 2025

Click here to view the results for the 2025 season.

Tom and Ante are currently offering an unprecedented group of performance pigeons for sale! This Pigeon Bids online auction ends Tuesday, October 14th at 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM.

Those looking for performance pigeons shouldn't hesitate for a second.