2020 was another year packed with highlights for Gerard and Bas. Their overall results and their NPO victory from Vierzon were particularly noteworthy (click here to reread our report). We take a look at the many highlights of their 2020 racing season:
A fantastic final chord
On 12 September both the old birds and the young birds ended the season in spectacular fashion. It was in part thanks to the solid performance of their old birds that Gerard and Bas had as many as 13 ace pigeons (allround) in the top 20 of the very competitive "Gouwe-Ijssel" entente. Racing bird NL19-1666639 (Dirty Harry x Mermaid) was the only bird with 13 prizes in 13 races. As you can see below, these were all pretty strong results, and they are likely to earn him a spot among this year's national ace pigeons:
One year old cock NL19-1666718 demonstrated his potential as well, winning a title of 1st ace pigeon champion natour in the entente, thanks to a 4th Lennik of 2,902 pigeons and a 27th Peronne of 16,670 pigeons.
They had two very strong old birds on board but we are also taking a look at the results of the young birds in Fontenay in the closing weekend of 2020.
What makes this result even more special is that the young birds of Gerard and Bas had not gone any further than Lennik (143km) by the 29th of August. They then successfully completed a trip from Pont St. Maxence (340km) the week before Fontenay. That was all it took for the young birds to prepare for the longest young birds' race of the season: Fontenay. The pedigrees of the first 8 pigeons to finish in the top 18 are included below:
Top prizes at (semi)Provincial/ NPO/National S2 level
As we've come to expect from Gerard and Bas, they claimed several impressive results at provincial/NPO/Nat. S2 level as well. We take a look at all top 25 finishers this season, and their respective parents: