Race: Final Race (520.29 km)

The 2024 AviRings Derby final race was a significant success, marking a memorable event for all participants. A total of 1264 pigeons were basketed and transported to Tiszabcezs, located at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, for a challenging 521 km flight. The pigeons were released at 07:45 in favorable conditions, with clear skies and a slight tailwind at the start.

Throughout the season, the AviRings pigeons had flown 1750 km in six official races, alongside over ten training sessions of varying distances. Out of the 2350 accepted pigeons, one-third hailed from the Netherlands, with others from Germany, Slovenia, Austria, and beyond. The event saw participation from 350 fanciers representing 26 countries, solidifying AviRings Derby as a prominent one-loft race (OLR) in the region and across Europe.

More than 100 people gathered at the AviRings loft to witness the arrival of the pigeons, with visitors from several countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

It was a pleasure to have Falco Ebben, our Dutch agent, and Uwe Wollitzer, our German agent, join us at the event. Uwe was also of great help during the basketing on Friday. We also took the opportunity to present medals and awards to those in attendance.

The first pigeon, from Markus Kroll's Team Pastor (DV-2024-02803-751), surprised the crowd by clocking in at 13:49, achieving an impressive speed of 1428 m/min. The second place was secured by Bracke-Fourneau OLR (BE-2024-3088844), just six seconds behind, while Mantel F&W (NL-2024-8049863) finished third.

Here are the top 10 pigeons from the final race:

Markus Kroll - Team Pastor (DV-2024-02803-751) – 13:49:20, 1428.01 m/min

Bracke-Fourneau OLR (BE-2024-3088844) – 13:49:26, 1427.62 m/min

Frits & Wytse Mantel (NL-2024-8049863) – 13:49:44, 1426.44 m/min

Jacco Vierhout (NL-2024-8193658) – 13:50:02, 1425.27 m/min

Crusader Racing Pigeons (NL-2024-8015332) – 13:50:48, 1422.30 m/min

Attila Herold (HU-2024-D83-5427) – 13:50:50, 1422.19 m/min

Bjorn & Henny Neve - Comb. Neve (NL-2024-8452634) – 13:50:56, 1421.79 m/min

Oskar Anderhub (CH-2024-2639) – 13:50:56, 1421.79 m/min

W Blaak (NL-2024-8428121) – 13:50:59, 1421.58 m/min

Miroslava Daskalova - Vicont & Vicontesa Team (BG-2024-77097) – 13:51:11, 1420.81 m/min

By the end of the day, 687 pigeons had returned, with another 260 arriving by the next morning, making for a total of 1018 pigeons home within 24 hours—an improvement over last year.

Looking ahead, AviRings will soon host the ultimate 600 km race, allowing the long-distance pigeons to showcase their endurance.