Team Hooymans.nl (Wijk en Aalburg) — in other words, Christian van de Wetering — is a top fancier. Down-to-earth in his thinking and actions, and with a small racing team, he continues to amaze the international pigeon racing world. “Everything stands or falls with good pigeons”… it all sounds so simple, but Christian proves it with results. Backed by Jan Hooymans — and that alone says enough about the quality of the pigeons.

When Christian hears that the pigeons will be released in Issoudun, his heart starts to race. He has a soft spot for this release location because last year he won 1st National Issoudun against 16,724 pigeons (national release), and this past weekend he claimed 6th and 7th National (Sector) against 8,321 pigeons.

Christian: “A small side note. Our first clocked pigeon ‘765’ (NL22-8559765) would have easily become 1st World Best Pigeon Long Distance, but the total number of kilometers flown amounts to 1,580 km, while the minimum requirement is 1,600 km. Rules are rules, of course, but I have to admit I swore a bit when I saw I was only 20 km short to submit a valid entry. A shame, but that doesn’t make us love our ‘765’ any less. He is and remains a true champion in our loft.”

Stefan Mertens