The 2026 international long-distance pigeon racing season has officially come to a close. The 2026 Perpignan International , the final race on the Entente Européenne calendar, attracted 10,658 pigeons from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, and other participating nations. However, this year the race faced an unexpected challenge: the devastating wildfires that ravaged southern France in July 2026 forced the release point to be moved from the vicinity of Perpignan to Mazamet-Castres , some 130 kilometers to the north. More than 250,000 people had been evacuated in the Pyrenees region when the decision to relocate the release was made.
Stéphane Depasse and Jo Lardenoye take the international title
With the pigeons released from Mazamet, the race was decided in Belgium. The team of Stéphane Depasse and Jo Lardenoye , from the La Frégate loft in Wagnelée (Hainao, Belgium), secured the international victory in the Old Pigeons category. Their pigeon covered the 795.73 km at an average speed of 1,079.56 m/min , with the finish recorded on Saturday at 7:17 PM CEST . They were also the first confirmed loft in Belgium in this edition, which also earned them the national title.
He's no stranger to long-distance climbing. In the same 2016 season, Depasse-Lardenoye had already secured the provincial victory at the Barcelona International . To finish the year with two major international results from challenging free-climbing points in the south of France is an achievement very few Belgian teams can boast in a single summer.
Lissenberg wins in the Netherlands from 978 kilometers
The Dutch national winner in Viejas was Jay Lissenberg from Utrecht. With an actual distance of 977.82 km from Mazamet, his pigeon was recorded on Sunday at 02:11 CEST with an average speed of 1,053.69 m/min . The difference in distance between the Belgian and Dutch lofts is considerable: almost 200 kilometers more flight from the same release point. In France, the winning loft was that of Martin Serge (Missy-Les-Pierrepont).
The speed comparison says it all: Depasse-Lardenoye, with 1,079.56 m/min, outperformed Lissenberg, with 1,053.69 m/min, despite the 795 km distance compared to the Dutchman's 977 km. In long-distance pigeon racing, speed per minute is the only parameter that allows for comparing lofts separated by hundreds of kilometers, and here the result was clear.
The impact of the move to Mazamet on the results
The change from Perpignan to Mazamet-Castres is not a minor detail. It directly affects distances and flight direction. From Mazamet, Belgian lofts have between 50 and 80 kilometers less flight distance than from their usual location, while Dutch and British lofts see their distance increased. The route from Mazamet also partially avoids the direct passage through the Pyrenees, which can alter the weather conditions the pigeons encounter in the first hours of flight.
From a historical perspective, the results of races where the release date is moved due to unforeseen circumstances are difficult to compare with those of normal years. Breeders who work long-term with lines selected for Perpignan should take this into account when evaluating the performance of their pigeons in this particular race.
Of the 10,658 participants, 2,953 were Belgian pigeons , which gives an idea of the weight of Belgian pigeon racing in these long-distance international races from the south of France.
End of the 2026 international season
With the Perpignan trial concluded, the international calendar for 2026 is now set. The major Entente trials (Pau, Barcelona, Agen, and Perpignan) have already yielded their results. For European breeders, the next phase involves the young bird season, the evaluation of breeding stock, and the selection process for 2027.
The full results of the Perpignan International 2026 are available onPIPA , where you can also find the lists of the top finishers by nation and category.
If you want to keep an organized record of your pigeons' results, including international races, and link them to their pedigrees, you can do so with FirePedigree . The platform allows you to link each race to the pigeon that participated and export the pedigree as a PDF.