Race: Ultimate 600 Race (607.25 km)

During the organization of the U600 race, we faced weather challenges during the preparations. Morning temperatures throughout the week were well below 10°C, and it rained for several days. The pigeons flew excellently in the final race from 520 km, and it was essential to maintain this form. On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, weather forecasts indicated that this was the only day with acceptable weather for organizing the races. The day before, there had been rain at the release site, and on Wednesday, rain was expected over Slovenia and parts of Hungary by late morning, coming from Italy, which is in the opposite direction. Faced with the dilemma of whether to organize the U600 race or cancel it due to the impossible weather conditions, we decided to hold the race on Wednesday.

At the release site, the temperature was 5°C in the morning hours, and the sky was overcast, but the flight direction was clear. A headwind of about 6-10 km/h blew, further complicating the situation. We would like to thank Samuel Tamure from Beclean, who filmed the release and assisted the driver with the release. 660 pigeons were released at 7:45, the same time and place as the previous year. We expected a tough race due to the headwind for the first 130 km, followed by a strong southern wind of about 20 km/h, which would push the pigeons off their correct line. Temperatures rose to around 10°C by noon, reaching a maximum of 16°C.

In the afternoon, visitors from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia gathered at the lofts, and we were also joined by a pigeon photographer, Ezgi from Belgium, who captured the interesting moments. We eagerly awaited the arrival of the pigeons, unsure of how the flight would unfold, though we expected the fastest pigeons to take around 10 hours.

At 16:22, the observers were astonished when the first pigeon appeared in the sky, NL-8314264, a checkered pigeon from the loft of Team Ten Klei & Lochtenberg, followed a few seconds later by the second pigeon, DV-08790-671 from the loft of Matthias Sprang. Incredible. With a speed of 1172 m/min, which was even faster than last year. The pigeons appeared to be in excellent condition, as confirmed during individual checks later. They kept arriving one after the other from a distance of 607 km as if they were returning from a short sprint race. 

We congratulate the winners of this race, which, due to its difficulty and quality, was probably the most challenging in the European OLR competition this season. By dusk, 70 pigeons had arrived, which is 11%. This is an excellent and realistic result, given the winds during the race, and far above average. We expected the majority of pigeons to arrive the next morning.

Unfortunately, light rain began the next morning at 7:00, earlier than expected. Despite the bad weather, pigeons that were close by kept arriving. However, the cloudy weather and rain worsened throughout the day, and the forecast for the next two days did not predict sunny weather either. By the end of the second day, 134 pigeons had arrived at the loft, and over the following days, by the end of the race on day six, 193 pigeons had returned. It’s hard to pinpoint why so few pigeons arrived on the second day, as bad weather alone is not to blame. The pigeons were well-prepared, and if they had been 30-50 km from the loft, they would have arrived even in cloudy weather. Like last year, there is a possibility that a flock of pigeons did not take the correct path out of the mountainous area in Romania, which extended their journey by up to 200 km, and in combination with bad weather in the following days, the result is clear.

Summary:
- The release site is the most suitable from the organizer’s perspective for a distance of 600+, but it still presents a significant change and risk compared to previous races, as the pigeons fly 130 km through hilly terrain between valleys towards Hungary, which is flat terrain.
- Organizing the U600 race is questionable in terms of daylight hours. With 11-hour days, the daylight might be too short for organizing races that last almost 10 hours. Especially in the case of morning fogs, when an early morning release is not possible, the day is simply too short.
- The 600 km course represents a limit for 2/3 of the pigeons, especially in tough conditions. Some fanciers, who mainly breed sprint pigeons, overestimated their birds after the euphoric final and placed too much of a burden on them.
- The extremely bad weather in the days following the race prevented a normal return for the latecomers. However, pigeons are still returning, and 33% of them are now back in the loft.
- The U600 was certainly, especially when looking solely at the day of release and the pigeons that arrived first, a race that stands out in difficulty and quality, far beyond other OLR races in Europe this season. Based solely on distance and the difficulty of the course, only the best pigeons can make it back on the first day. Congratulations to the winners.

The U600 race left a bittersweet aftertaste at the end of such a successful season, yet the best pigeons won and managed to arrive on the day of the release. All the other pigeons that returned also showed extraordinary perseverance and determination. 
We will definitely reconsider the organization of the U600 in the future. We are all learning, especially in terms of following and adapting to nature.