And that is exactly what Team Noël - Willocks had in mind when they got started in 2013: they insisted on actions rather than on words! They wanted to aim for the absolute best, and even that would not satisfy them. We are now five years down the line, and we have seen a lot of action indeed. And perhaps the best is yet to come.

A strong Noël-Willockx combination...

Bloodlines...

Let's go back in time... When the Noël-Willockx combination was founded, it was quickly decided to use the the bloodline of the 118-Stamdoffer (R&X Verstraete x Santens Brothers), and to crossbreed this line with some of Belgium's very best pigeon families: Gaston Van de Wouwer, Jelle Roziers, Bart Geerinckx and the PIPA Elite Center. A good example of this form of crossbreeding would be Warren (BE18-6161103). He originates from the 118 bloodline crossbred to Queen L of Jelle Roziers froms his father's side. And his dam comes from the bloodline of New Freddy of Bart Geerinckx & PIPA Elite Center, crossbred to that same Queen L. of Jelle Roziers. For the full pedigree of Warren, click here.

Warren closed the season as 15th nat. Ace Pigeon long distance yearlings KBDB 2019, based on:

 6. Nat. Aurillac 3,584 p. 
84. Nat. Argenton 22,826 p.
94. Nat. Tulle 7,155 p.

Warren, 15th National Ace Pigeon long distance KBDB 2019

Gargenton leads the way...

Another highly successful pigeon in this team is without doubt Gargenton (BE14-6228656), a direct Van de Wouwer. This pigeon would eventually become the number one breeder in Baasrode. He is the sire/grandfather of as many as 12 (!) different national top 200 finishers. (For the breeding references of Gargenton, click here)

Bingo...

The old birds and yearlings did great, and so did the young birds. The team had an as many as three pigeons in the top nine of the PIPA ranking for young birds with 4 prizes in 4 national races. Here is a brief introduction to each of the three young birds:

6th Nat. Ace Pigeon young birds PIPA across 4 national races, Aceke 6 (BE19-6173131)

The sire is a half brother of Angelleke, a 15th Nat. Ace Pigeon KBDB YBs 2013, which was closely inbred to the 118-Stamdoffer bloodline. He was paired to Super Gaston 647, a direct Van de Wouwer from the line of Laura.

7th Nat. Ace Pigeon young birds PIPA across 4 national races, Aceke 7 (BE19-6173081)

This pigeon stems from the exact same bloodlines: the 118-Stamdoffer bloodline through the sire, once again paired to a direct Van de Wouwer, from the lines of Palme d’Or and New Kim.

9th Nat. Ace Pigeon young birds PIPA across 4 national races, Last 779 (BE19-6173129)

The sire of this Last 779 is a direct Bart Geerinckx, from the lines of Wittekop Sylvester and Fluwelen 18. The dam is Provincial Celine, a top class breeding hen with De Rauw-Sablon origins.

e vader een rechtstreekse Bart Geerinckx, uit de lijnen van Wittekop Sylvester en Fluwelen 18.  De moeder is Provincial Celine, topkweekster met De Rauw-Sablon origine.

Overwhelmingly strong in Aurillac...

"We took off with 80 old and one year old birds raced in total widowhood", Ivan explains. "We have about 70 of them left. A number of these pigeons was basketed for Aurillac, a few others were racing in Argenton, and a third group was raced from the nest, to complete the last four nationals. We have around 40 fixed breeding pairs, as well as around 10 pairs to try out. These 10 pairs are used for inbreeding with our own breed, and to test crossbreeds with newly introduced birds. At the start of the season, we opted to focus entirely on the one day long distance. We had some promising results in Limoges, and our pigeons were truly fantastic in Aurillac: we had as many as 12 pigeons in the top 100 national. It is no coincidence that 3 of them are youngsters or grandchildren of Gargenton, who is once again showing to be a high value breeding bird", Ivan told us.

Reults Aurillac 2019:

3,584 yearlings: 4-6-11-18-28-50-53-60-83-101-109-126-188-208-382-407-411-468-509-625 (20/27)

3,886 olds: 3-50-71-158-190-262-275-339-402-525 (10/17)

The hens were basketed for a weekly race of 450 to 500km, with the exception of one weekend. A few of them were even basketed for Limoges I and Cahors. They were a bit more careful with their racing cocks, although the cocks did complete four long distance races in just five weeks' time.

Begeleiding met AIDI...

Since Eddy Noël has been a passionate nutritionist for years, he gained quite a lot of experience over the years, in his own loft, as well as in the lofts of other fanciers who believe in science based nutrition plans. And based on his knowledge and experience, Team Noël-Willockx developed their own dietary mixture called AIDI. These mixtures, along with a number of supplements that compensate for nutritional deficiencies, such as as natural mineral mixture, a fitness enhancing tonic, a resistance increasing elixir and their AIDI Recup Fast (for faster and more efficient recovery) have allowed the fanciers to complete the circle, as you can tell from their excellent results.

The pigeon lofts of Team Noël-Willockx in a cosy setting