Different strains win in different parts of the country. I would check out results in three parts of the country for sprint pigeons, those being London/Essex racing North Rd, the UNC & the Midlands.
Confidence for me plays a big part in sprinting pigeons, training on the line of flight brings about familiarity which in turn instils confidence. If I were distance minded I’d train them around the clock.
No matter what age they are they'll come a time during the year they'll want to breed, all that needs to be done is replace their eggs with plastic dummy ones.
West Ham threatened with a 25% cut in pay go out tonight and win 2-0 and jump 4 places up the league. I wonder if I threaten my pigeons with a 25% cut in their feed would get the same sort of response ;D
If your flying roundabout I would try pairing them up with hens. If they do pair to hens they'll more than likely pair back up with eachother once the hens have been taken away. At least this way the hens would have gone through a nesting cycle.