The past years, Kristof worked hard to reach the top of the (inter)national long distance and extreme long distance racing. With plenty of provincial victories, provincial and national ace pigeon titles and many sensational results it is fair to say that he succeeded. In 2021, he continued his success and Kristof added a national victory to his name.
National victory and top rankings in prestigious championships
The past summer, Kristof managed to take his first national victory of his career. On Marseille, 'Den Dave' won against 1,882 pigeons.
Video 'Den Dave' after his national victory on Marseille
As you may have seen, the pedigree of Den Dave is astonishing. He is a cross between Batenburg/PEC (on father's side) and the best of Kristof's own lines (on mother's side), with a prominent role for Jelle.
As grandson of The Special One, 1st Internat. Barcelona 19,083 p. and a great grandson of New Laureaat, 1st Internat. Barcelona 25,382 p. his heritage on father's side leaves little room for doubt about the quality of these genes.
On mother's side, with grandparents Jelle and 'zusje Spolle' (grandchild Jelle), this may be the perfect match for the extreme long distance. As with many of Kristof's (10!) provincial winners, we find Jelle back in this national winner's pedigree.
Jelle, BE12-4019241
Jelle, original Jean Pierre Raemdonck-Ruys from East-Flemish Hamme, became 1st Prov. Ace Pigeon and won 1x 1st and 2x 2nd Provincial:
1st Prov. Limoges 1,417 old birds - 98th Nat. 18,390 p.
1st Prov. Montauban 526 old birds - 89th Nat. 5,935 p.
After his remarkable racing career, Jelle began his successful breeding career. Spolle quickly became one of his most famous descendants. This grandson of Jelle won 2x 1st Provincial on Libourne and Montauban, in addition to a 2nd Prov. on Narbonne. In 2015, he was crowned 10th Nat. Ace Pigeon Extreme Long Distance KBDB.
Jelle also became grandfather of Kobe, another super pigeon:
4th Best Int. Marseille pigeon 2016-2019
1st Prov. - 19th Nat. - 27th Int. Marseille – 8,037 p.
10th Prov. Pau
12th Prov. Marseille
PIPA IATP Ranking 2021
With a 6th place in the international PIPA IATP-ranking, Kristof left many renowned long distance racers in Europe behind him. A confirmation of a strong and steady season on the extreme long distance, as the ranking took the following 6 international races into consideration; Pau, Agen, Barcelona, Marseille, Narbonne and Perpignan. Each time with his 1st nominated pigeon.
Bricon Trophy 2021
In the category long distance of the Bricon Trophy, Kristof finishes as 3rd behind Geert Van Schoorisse and Noël Peiren. To obtain a podium spot at this prestigious championship one has to house some serious quality!
De Duif
In the 'International Extreme Long Distance Competition' of De Duif, Kristof's season was rewarded with a 9th place behind many other top fanciers from The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
Steady force
The past years, Kristof Mortelmans has always belonged to the best on the (extreme) long distance races. With the Jelle lines, the super breeder a top loft can always rely on and new results and milestones are achieved almost anually, Kristof found his wat to the top of extreme long distance racing. Whether it is the national victory with Den Dave, a 1st National Ace Pigeon KBDB Extreme Long Disance 2016 with Barcaras Red Ace or 1 of his 10 Provincial victories, Kristof always manages to raise the bar even further. He will undoubtedly continue to be one of the fanciers to beat in the coming years!