Who in France today can ignore the presence of Olivier Goncalves in the pigeon racing world?
Whether during his time in the northern region or now in his Quercy countryside, Olivier has always managed to make a name for himself.Talent… I’m not going to give you a detailed explanation of the “parable of talents,” but it seems that Olivier is one of those who were lucky enough to receive some talent and has always known how to make the most of it…In the past, in Pas-de-Calais, his record was already impressive. Just to mention the last two years (among others): 1st federal prize in northern Pas-de-Calais with old pigeons out of 16,000 old birds in 2019, 1st Blois old birds in the Béthune group in 2020, and 1st Montoire old birds in the Béthune group (this hen is the grandmother of the 1st Alençon from Loft Pirate).
As time passed, desires changed, and so did family life. The decision was made to draw a diagonal towards Montauban for a change of scenery, but always with racing pigeons at the heart of it.In Montauban, Olivier rebuilt, bred, and started racing again, and rather successfully:
Two seasons in the Midi-Pyrénées central group, winning speed and overall champion in all categories for two consecutive years at the Messagers Montalbanais club, securing the top seven spots at Marsac (145 km) and on the Trophée des Îles organized by the Agen club. In 2023, he won 1st prize on the Île d’Oléron and 1st prize on the Île de Noirmoutier, totaling 300 prizes by the end of the season. He raced until he realized that the toll paid to nature due to predators was completely offsetting his investments. (Despite this, Olivier is preparing a small team for next year, motivated by the idea of racing marathons, including against Spanish competitors…)
He then focused on the discipline where he had already started “investing”: the OLR (One Loft Races). And the least we can say is that when Olivier focuses on something, he doesn’t do it halfway…
20 breeding pairs.
In 2024, 52 pigeons sent, and in 2025, 48 through the syndicate “Have Fun” (which includes the Goncalves couple, Virginie Michelet, Nicolas Lavisse, José Gomes, and Philippe Baesel) at the Superstar Alicante. Additionally, 70 pigeons at Derby Carmelo through the Goncalves/Michelet/Lavisse/Edith Goncalves team and 30 pigeons earmarked for Loft Pirate… I’ll let you do the math for 2025 😉.Fairly quickly, his name started appearing at the top of results in targeted lofts, culminating in the ultimate achievement: first place at Loft Pirate. First place, but also 10th, 18th, 40th, 74th, 78th, 82nd, 105th, and ultimately, 17 pigeons clocked in during the final, with 18 returning out of the 30 entered at the start: a success!
The initial bloodlines come from André Dedeyne, André Vancaneghem, and Theo Martel from Bray-Dunes, thanks to Stéphane Vandaele. Then came the well-known Vereecke and Batenburg lines. More recently, for the lofts, the Steffl, Petar and Kiril Raponsky, Ganus Family Loft, and Harry Hooymans lines joined, not to forget Dirk Delooder, who was behind his Montoire crack in Pas-de-Calais and also appears in the pedigree of his 7th place at Barcelona Carmelo Yupi and 4th place As ELD, as well as in the pedigree of his 1st place Alençon at Loft Pirate…
For Olivier, this discipline has also allowed him to forge friendships with many other fanciers and create “syndicates” (groups of fanciers) to compete together in more races. The OLR community is a large, enthusiastic family, with fanciers spread across the globe, yet they seem more united than two fanciers from the same village in our regions. Thus, Olivier has formed bonds with Spaniards, Portuguese, Romanians, Belgians, and even French !!!
Moreover, his dynamism has led him to sign a partnership and engage in a friendly relationship with the Carmelo Yupi Derby in Spain, becoming the agent for France. From my perspective, this is just the beginning of a long series…
Olivier has also enthusiastically endorsed our project and will present some pigeons specifically bred for the OLR sale at Pigeon Master.
Thank you, Olivier, and good luck to you and your partners!
Fred LEFEVRE
