Dream Debut for Young Pigeon Fancier Cristian Bilea

Cristian Bilea, a pigeon fancier from Bălăcești in Gorj County and a member of the Turceni Pigeon Club, had a dream debut in the racing pigeon competition. First of all, he successfully completed the championship with this year’s young pigeons, which is a very positive achievement for a beginner. Secondly, the young pigeon fancier from Gorj managed to achieve several rankings that would make even an experienced fancier envious.

Cristian Bilea is only 18 years old, and in the 2025 season, he made his debut in pigeon racing competitions with his young birds. He started the championship with 37 young flyers, which he trained according to his resources and the knowledge he had acquired so far. The rankings he achieved, while not negligible, are highly encouraging.

Strong Rankings from the Start

Although he is just starting out, Cristian Bilea managed to secure decent arrivals and rankings in every stage. Moreover, in two sprint stages—the Montana (140 km) and Ghintsi (183 km) races—he achieved 2nd place in the central ranking, out of 1,492 and 1,443 pigeons, respectively. However, Cristian Bilea’s real triumph came during the third long-distance race with the young pigeons, Stavros 3, held on October 12.

1st Place in the Final Long-Distance Stage: The Only Pigeon Arriving on the First Day

The third long-distance race for young pigeons in the Gorj Branch took place on October 12 under challenging weather conditions. A total of 265 pigeons and 51 breeders participated. Of these, 55 pigeons and 8 breeders came from the Vâlcea Branch, with which the Gorj Branch had a protocol for long-distance stages. The pigeons were released at 08:42, and as the hours passed, it was clear that the race would be extremely difficult. Indeed, it proved to be the toughest of the three long-distance stages organized this season with the young pigeons, with only 19.62% of the entered pigeons returning by the end of the competition.

Yet, one breeder could sleep peacefully after the first day. That was Cristian Bilea, the young breeder from Gorj, who recorded the only arrival of the first day. Near evening, at 17:57:26, at his loft, located 521 km from the release point, his pigeon with the series RO-2025-0458665 arrived. At that moment, it was the first pigeon to return in the competition. In the end, it was also the only one, as no other pigeon managed to complete the race on the first day. Thus, Cristian Bilea can proudly claim his first 1st-place finish in a race, an achievement he will surely never forget.

His stage-winning pigeon also ranked in the other long-distance stage he entered, giving him a total of four ranked competitions.

Cristian Bilea also won in the breeders’ overall ranking. His second young pigeon arrived the next day at 09:59:08, securing 11th place in the race.