Roger Mylle has gradually but surely become a household name at international level. His pigeons are particularly fond of the long distance and the extreme long distance, where they have been writing history in recent years. To begin with, Roger won a national podium spot in the national championships in 2019 (14th Nat. Champion KBDB), while also winning a 9th Nat. Ace Pigeon long distance & extreme long distance YLs KBDB with his superstar Bagatelli.
The year before, racing bird Ata won a title of 5th Nat. Ace Pigeon long distance and extreme long distance YLs KBDB. And he had Belgium's 1st best pigeon from Perpignan across two seasons (PIPA Ranking) in his team, a title he also won with St. Vincent, which was Belgium's 1st best pigeon from St. Vincent across two seasons, as well as across three years the following year (PIPA Ranking).
These are a few of the many stars in Roger Mylle's collection. It seems as if a race can never be too demanding or difficult for his pigeons. These pigeons clearly enjoy racing in demanding conditions - you can tell from his achievements in the 2020 season so far. The pigeons of Roger and his wife Jeanine have been very tough to beat in recent weeks. We take a look at their best achievements so far.
A 100% prize percentage from Pau
The international calendar kicked off with the race from Pau, for which Roger traditionally baskets just a handful of pigeons. For this year's race, he had just two pigeons in the basket, and both of them claimed a top result:
Pau Provincial 731 olds: 31-167 (2/2)
National 2,919 olds: 106-677 (2/2)
The first pigeon back home was also his first nominated, and he is one of a kind:
-BE17-3031339: this is his palmares:
75. Nat Narbonne 3,879 p. ’19
98. Prov Chateauroux 2,343 p.
106 Nat Pau 2,919 p. ’20
203 Nat Agen 4,078 p. ’18
223 Prov Argenton 4,079 p. ’17
222 Nat Narbonne 3,017 p. ’18
256 Nat Pau 2,759 p. ’19
This is the prototype of the Roger Mylle racing bird, a pigeon tailor-made for everything from longer middle distance to extreme long distance.
Two pigeons in the national top 100 from Agen
The international classic from Agen took off a week after Pau, where Roger had 8 old birds at the start line. Two of them finished in the national top 100, with two pigeons winning a prize per 10 and claiming a spot in the provincial top 50:
Agen Prov. 1,170 olds: 12-22-27-31 (4/8)
National 5,140 olds: 40-80-108-129 (4/8)
The first pigeon to arrive home from Bellegem, a three year old racing bird, is a long distance bird with an impressive palmares already, including several national top results:
-BE17-3031307
14. Nat Narbonne 3,873 p. ’19
40. Nat Agen 5,140 p. ’20
155 Nat Limoges I 13,569 p. ’19
205 Prov Limoges I 3,037 p. ’20
271 Prov Vierzon 3,085 p. ’19
383 Prov Argenton 4,079 p. ’17
605 Nat Limoges II 9,661 p. ’19
These are racing birds that never fail to deliver, and ins't that the type of bird we are all looking for?
A fantastic weekend from Barcelona-St.Vincent-Souillac
Due to the postponed start to the racing season due to corona, we have a few weekends packed with national races, with sometimes up to two international races in a single weekend. The weekend of Barcelona - St. Vincent was one of those weekends, which was combined with the long distance race from Souillac. And the pigeons of Roger Mylle were able to deliver, even in these tropical conditions (for instance on Friday 31st of July).
St.Vincent Nat 3,038 olds: 58 (1/2)
Barcelona Prov 945 olds: 42-76 (2/2)
National 6,178 olds: 317-552 (2/2)
The racing cock that claimed a 1st club Barcelona last year was having a strong race again, although one of his teammates did finish in front of him:
-BE17-3131555: 42nd Nat. Cahors 6,903 p. ’19, 157th Nat. Agen 3,935 p. ’19, 317th Nat. Barcelona 6,178 p. ’20.
-BE17-3031887: 1st Club, 49th Prov. 1,302 p. and 349th Nat. Barcelona 7,201 p. in 2019, 392nd Nat. Angoulême 5,030 p. ’18 and now 552nd Nat. Barcelona 6,178 p. in 2020
And as if the weekend of 31st of July-1st of August was not enough of a success, the team was also very strong in Souillac, where four of Roger's pigeons finished in the national top 100.
Souillac Prov 1,639 yearlings: 7-29-38-51-55-76-84-185-371-398 (10/18)
Nationaal 7,514 yearlings: 18-66-90-130-141-218-252-580-1371-1495 (10/18)
Souillac Prov 1,310 olds: 16-42-48-175-180-225-277-381-404 (9/19)
Nationaal 6,668 olds: 53-160-180-606-625-824-1098-1577 (8/19)
The second pigeon to arrive home from Souillac (she was also basketed as second nominated) has quite a decent list of achievements as well:
-BE18-3071278: 12th Nat. Libourne 4,354 p. ’19, 160th Nat. Souillac 6,668 p. ’20, 63rd Prov. Poitiers 2,371 p. ’19, 174th Prov. Limoges 3,037 p. ’20, 373rd Prov. Argenton 4,190 p. ’18
These were just some of the many high quality racing birds in the Roger Mylle pigeon family.
Success story ground to a sudden halt
We had only just finished writing up this article when we got confronted with the other side of the medal. We had seenj Roger and Jeanine on Thursday (6th of August) to talk about this report. Roger had just added two important results in the national championship extreme long distance to his palmares, and he was positive about adding a third as well. Two Roger Mylle racing birds had been basketed for Perpignan, and Roger told us his racing team was looking in prime form. They were training hard and diligently, which he loved. He had high hopes.
But on Friday (7th of August) the lights went out. Roger had visited his pigeons that morning, and he went to pick up the newspaper. He suddenly became unwell and he asked for an ambulance. When the emergency services arrived, Roger had already passed away. There was nothing they could do. It all happened so suddenly.
It was a huge blow for family and friends. We did not get the pedigrees for this report (yet) but that is of course the least of our worries. We are devastated that our friend and fancier Roger is no longer among us. He was a good friend, a warm, sweet and kind man. We wish you all the best on your journey into eternity.
Right before we published this article, the pigeons of Roger Mylle did everything they could to pay homage to their team leader one last time, in the tropical heat. They claimed victory from Aurillac at club level, and the old birds worked hard that day:
Aurillac Club 47 olds: 1-7 (2/2)... National 2,849 olds: 31-450 (2/2)... National 3,004 yearlings: 659-717 (2/2)
It highlights the enormous potential of the Roger Mylle racing bird. This breed is strong as an ox!