At his own loft, the 2026 season is expected to be a difficult one, according to Gert. Due to lack of time and a late preparation, the racing team has barely been outside the loft so far and the real start of the season still has to come. Moreover, the limited preparation has already taken its toll, resulting in a remarkable number of injured or lost pigeons and many empty nest boxes.
Gert:
“Last year, several real top pigeons were moved to the breeding loft, so it’s always a question of how the new team will take over — especially when these newcomers gained only limited experience as youngsters…”
Despite these setbacks, the Van Limbergen pigeons have already recorded several strong top performances — this time at other fanciers’ lofts. Because quality always rises to the top! An overview:
Deprez-Bataille (Zwevegem)
Extremely high prize percentages and weekly appearances at the very top of the results with only a handful of pigeons — that is the trademark of Willem Deprez. The introduction of Van Limbergen pigeons quickly created a wave of top performances.
In 2025, the zonal victory from Argenton was achieved with “Argento”, bred by Gert Van Limbergen. At provincial level, this young pigeon finished 2nd Provincial. The 3rd and 9th National Zone winners (respectively 7th and 10th Provincial) from Bourges among the youngsters also came directly from the Van Limbergen breeding loft.
Last weekend marked the first race of the season in Zwevegem, and once again it was a pigeon from Gert (BE25-4045476) that brought home the victory against 647 old and yearling pigeons from Clermont.
A particularly strong series was achieved among the yearlings. Against 318 pigeons, the following result was recorded:
1, 3, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26, 37, 44, 63, 64, 75 …
or in other words: 10 prizes per ten entries (10/29 per ten)!
Leon Meers (Rijkhoven)
In the South-East Limburg region, Leon has been known for many years as a true specialist with young pigeons and as the man of impressive “chain results” in sprint racing. In his search for pigeons suited to the middle-distance races — and more specifically the national races with young birds — he found his way to Pitts founder Gert Van Limbergen.
As a middle-distance virtuoso, Gert has built up an outstanding reputation over the past decade, something that certainly did not go unnoticed by Leon. Plans for cooperation were quickly made, and in 2024 the first youngsters moved from Lede to Rijkhoven.
This combination of Van Limbergen’s top breeding loft and the know-how of Meers soon proved to be a golden match, producing numerous top results and first prizes, including the 1st Semi-Provincial Ace Pigeon Long Distance Young Birds, and among others a semi-provincial victory from Sens against 1,200 young pigeons with “Semi Leon” BE25-4045375.
This chequer cock continued on the same winning momentum this season, scoring three consecutive 1st prizes in the preparation races:
1st Mettet against 54 yearlings
1st Chimay against 56 yearlings
1st Dizy-le-Gros against 95 old + yearling pigeons
Moreover, “Semi Leon” has a tremendous pedigree: he is a grandson of — once again — top breeder “RAMBO” from Gert Van Limbergen, this time paired with a daughter of “FINN” from Tom Van Gaver. Notably, the winning blood of the aforementioned Deprez-Bataille loft is also present in his pedigree.
Wim Breemen (Heerlen – NL)
After health issues and several hospital stays a few years ago, Wim Breemen is back — in fact, he never really left. Both 2024 and 2025 turned into strong seasons once again, during which he knocked firmly on the door at national and even international level.
That Wim is a man of simplicity and clarity has been known for a long time: “good pigeons and keeping them as close to nature as possible” is his motto. Through Gert Van Limbergen and the Pitts network, he also came into contact with the Van Limbergen loft, where in 2024 Wim selected several young cocks to strengthen his team for the programme races.
Over the years, a strong friendship has developed between these two icons, and today Wim is fully convinced of the potential of the Van Limbergen pigeons. With only a handful of pigeons that moved from Lede to Heerlen, Wim immediately managed to house several real gems.
Among them is “Turbo Gert” (BE24-4177337) — the absolute star of the loft — once again a grandson of foundation breeder “RAMBO”, and now a true cornerstone at the Breemen loft
Last weekend it was celebration time once again at the Wim Breemen loft, as another direct Van Limbergen pigeon (BE24-4177352) won from Rethel (192 km) with a fine lead, leaving no fewer than 3,702 pigeons behind in Eastern South Limburg. In the full Section 4, he ranked 3rd against 15,092 pigeons!
The mother of this winner is a full sister of foundation breeder “RAMBO”, while the father was obtained from Gabriël Kint of Ooigem — a fancier to whom Gert Van Limbergen owes a great deal.
Devy Dekens (Nederename)
Devy Dekens also strengthened his loft with the introduction of the Van Limbergen strain, purchased via Pitts from Kweekcenter Duivensport België.
The white hen BE23-4182501 achieved an impressive racing record for Devy, winning no fewer than 8 first prizes on sprint and middle distance races — a remarkable performance that underlines the consistency and class of the Van Limbergen bloodline.
Key results:
Pont St Maxence – 1st / 411
Pont St Maxence – 1st / 72 – 1st / 128Toury – 1st / 36 – 1st / 70 – 1st / 146
Ecouen – 1st / 477
Pont St Maxence – 1st / 73
Noyon – 2nd / 89
Toury – 2nd / 95
Pont St Maxence – 2nd / 32 – 2nd / 155 – 2nd / 53
Pont St Maxence – 3rd / 38 – 3rd / 144
Toury – 3rd / 64 – 3rd / 157
Toury – 4th / 160
Pont St Maxence – 4th / 95
Ecouen – 6th / 91
Pont St Maxence – 7th / 129
Noyon – 7th / 182
Toury – 8th / 89
Ecouen – 9th / 281
Pont St Maxence – 9th / 108
Overview 2023–2024–2025 — Gert Van Limbergen
72 pure 1st prizes (own loft)
203 first prizes including double victories (own loft)
10 different Provincial Ace Pigeons (middle distance, heavy middle distance & allround)
132 prizes in the Top 100 zonal (own loft)
Finest Top-10 Performances (2023–2024–2025)
1st Interprovincial Fontenay
1st Provincial Fontenay
1st Interprovincial Noyon
1st Zonal Argenton (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
1st Semi-Provincial Sens (Leon Meers – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
1st Semi-Provincial Noyon
1st Semi-Provincial Toury (6×)
1st Semi-Provincial Fontenay2nd Provincial Châteauroux
2nd Provincial La Souterraine
2nd Provincial Argenton (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
2nd Semi-Provincial Toury (10×)
2nd Semi-Provincial Orléans
2nd Zonal La Souterraine
2nd Zonal Châteauroux3rd Provincial Poitiers
3rd Provincial Orléans
3rd Semi-Provincial Toury (3×)
3rd Semi-Provincial Orléans
3rd Zonal La Souterraine
3rd Zonal Bourges (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
3rd Zonal Poitiers4th Provincial Toury
4th Provincial Orléans
4th Provincial La Souterraine
4th Semi-Provincial Toury (3×)
4th Semi-Provincial Orléans (6×)
4th Zonal Souillac5th Provincial Châteauroux
5th Provincial Orléans
5th Semi-Provincial Toury (5×)
5th Semi-Provincial Orléans (6×)6th Semi-Provincial Toury (9×)
6th Semi-Provincial Orléans (3×)
6th Zonal Bourges7th Provincial Toury (2×)
7th Provincial La Souterraine
7th Provincial Châteauroux (2×)
7th Provincial Bourges (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
7th Provincial Tulle
7th Provincial Orléans (3×)
7th Semi-Provincial Toury (11×)
7th Semi-Provincial Orléans (5×)
7th Zonal La Souterraine (2×)
7th Zonal Souillac
7th Zonal Bourges8th Provincial Toury
8th Provincial Vierzon
8th Semi-Provincial Toury (11×)
8th Semi-Provincial Orléans (2×)
8th Zonal Poitiers9th Provincial La Souterraine
9th Provincial Châteauroux
9th Provincial Orléans
9th Semi-Provincial Toury (6×)
9th Semi-Provincial Orléans
9th Zonal Bourges (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
9th National La Souterraine10th Provincial Lamotte-Beuvron
10th Provincial Bourges (Deprez-Bataille – directly Gert Van Limbergen)
10th Semi-Provincial Toury (2×)
10th National Poitiers
10th National La Souterraine
