"Geelogers Glory"
NL26-8474967
1st National Argenton 15,759b.
fastest of 19,945b.

Distance: 563km
Velocity: 1,178.57 m/m

Argenton National for young pigeons. The birds were released at 8 a.m. and the battle for victory could begin. While everyone expected the winners to be clocked in the province of West Flanders, things turned out completely differently, with the province of Antwerp taking the upper hand. Apparently, the wind must have been blowing from a different direction than everyone had expected. We therefore consulted people who are better informed on the subject, and they explained: “A high-pressure area over Ireland expanded towards Belgium, bringing calmer weather and a north-westerly to northerly wind. From France onwards, however, a low-pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean, west of Portugal, began to exert its influence, with the air being ‘drawn’ in that direction by a large north-easterly airflow. At an altitude of 600 metres, the wind was no more than fairly moderate to moderate (force 4).”

Never before has it been so exciting

In pigeon racing terms, we can say that Argenton was a very tough race. When the leading pigeons fail to reach 1,200 m/min, that tells you enough. On top of that, the pigeons had to spend an extra night in the baskets. And yet… we have been following the national races for decades now, and we cannot remember ever witnessing such an exciting battle for victory. It was like a bunch sprint in a cycling classic, where everyone has to wait for the photo finish to determine the Top 10.

1,178 m/min… that was the average speed that played the leading role in the thrilling finale. No fewer than the first 7 pigeons achieved this speed. Here they are:

Team Eijerkamp (Pulderbos) 1,178.57 m/min

Thys Roger & Nick (Hallaar) clocked 2 youngsters just one second apart, recording 1,178.51 m/min and 1,178.47 m/min.

De Winter Kristof (Tremelo) also clocked a young pigeon at 1,178.47 m/min.

Van der Putten Jan (Berlaar) saw 2 youngsters diving side by side towards the landing board. They were clocked 14 seconds apart, recording 1,178.41 m/min and 1,177.82 m/min.

Team Eijerkamp

But even the most exciting race must have a winner, and this time it was Team Eijerkamp, with loft manager – or perhaps we should say director – Oliver Sabol. As everyone knows, this is Oliver’s first year racing in Belgium, and the competition has certainly taken notice. After just a few months of racing, the following top results already feature on his record:

1st National Argenton 15,386 old birds – fastest of 37,697 pigeons
1st National Argenton 15,759 young birds – fastest of 19,935 pigeons
1st and 3rd Provincial Bourges 3,034 old birds
2nd National Sancoins 9,582 old birds
5th National La Châtre 7,634 pigeons
7th National Tours 4,859 old birds
9th National Argenton 22,311 yearlings

etc.

If you had predicted this to Team Eijerkamp at the start of the season, they would probably have thought you were crazy. But results do not lie, and this dream scenario has now become reality.

Grandchild of “Geeloger”

We get the impression that Oliver thrives on challenges, and the Argenton National for young birds was another “trigger” that pushed him to go all the way. Oliver knew it was going to be a tough race, so he pulled out every trick in the book. His friend Peter Theunis was asked for some additional advice, and Oliver pulled out all the stops. The young cocks and hens had been separated for around 7 weeks and normally they are never brought together on the day of basketing. This time, however, Oliver felt that he had to do so. He also added an extra form of motivation, although Oliver prefers to keep the details to himself. It was a motivational method that he knew most of the youngsters would react badly to, but he only needed one to respond in the right way… and the plan worked. The garden terrace was well filled with supporters. Pigeon friends from Malta, colleague Michal Jagielski (now loft manager in Brummen), pigeon racing icons Leo Heremans and Maurice Haesendonckx were there, and Eddy Janssens joined them later as well. At 3:58 p.m. and 6 seconds, they heard the beep of the electronic timing system. It was the pied little hen “Geelogers Glory”, diving towards the landing board as if the devil was at her heels. She hesitated for just a moment before finally going inside. Fortunately, because as you could read in the introduction, every single second was crucial.

“Geelogers Glory” was bred in Brummen and has as sire “Broer Saraly” (original Bakker combination) x “Bonte Geeloger” (daughter of the world-famous “Geeloger” (1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Allround and 100% Willem de Bruijn) x “Dochter Uranus”).

A few things we noted

Oliver normally takes the pigeons on many training tosses, but the extremely heavy traffic in and around Antwerp often prevents him from doing so. He wanted to drive to Vilvoorde, but eventually released them in Duffel instead.

Oliver likes to feed generously and therefore feeds his young pigeons up to 6 times a day. Never large amounts, but always small portions. The feed consists of a combination of mixtures from Van Robaeys and Natural, while the “NPO-Mix” from Embregts-Theunis also plays an important role. Oliver believes that it is not so much the feed during the final days that matters, but rather what they are fed in the days before. That is when they build up their reserves.

When it comes to medical care, Oliver takes many matters into his own hands. He decides for himself what should be administered and when. So many factors come into play that there is no fixed schedule. Even the weather plays a certain role.

Hans and Evert-Jan can rightly be proud of the performances their team is achieving, both in Brummen and Pulderbos.

Wishing them continued success!

Stefan Mertens