Leme: ‘I Like The Lights And Pressure’

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Jose Vitor Leme leaned forward inside the bucking chutes and began to tie his left hand into his bull rope aboard Big Black.

Every camera and pair of eyeballs inside Infinite Energy Arena were trained on the 22-year-old bull rider from Ribas Do Rio Pardo, Brazil.

Ezekiel Mitchell stood on the back of the chutes with his eyes focused upon Leme as well. Mitchell had just put all the pressure on with his own 89.75-point ride on Stunt Man Ray to take the event lead.

Leme was the last man standing between Mitchell and an event win at the U.S. Border Patrol Invitational.

The situation was simple.

Ride Big Black for 88 points or higher and Leme would have his first event victory of 2019 – and second-regular season win of his career – finally wrapped up.

Some athletes crumble when the lights are at their brightest, but Leme showed on Sunday that he truly does thrive when the stakes are high.

Leme became the fifth consecutive rider to reach 8 seconds, and fourth consecutive to win an event, aboard Big Black when he spurred his way to 91.25 points.

The third-year pro also became the sixth rider in seven events to emerge victorious after entering the championship round leading the event.

Last season, only two of the first seven event winners entered the championship round atop the leaderboard.

“This is my favorite spot,” Leme said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “I like the spotlight. All the lights and pressure motivates me to get the job done. I know I have to ride to win and that is on me.

“That gives me extra motivation to get the job done. I enjoy it. It is good pressure.”

Leme famously won the 2018 PBR World Finals as a rookie by going 6-for-6 in his first example of thriving under pressure.

The ultimate motivation, of course, is a gold buckle.

 
Leme has not forgotten how close he came to winning his first World Championship a season ago – 422.5 points to be exact.

It is why Leme is not pumping the breaks with this weekend’s upcoming Unleash The Beast off weekend.

Instead, the No. 3-ranked bull rider in the world will pack up his gear bag later this week and head to Dayton, Ohio, for the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event on Saturday.

Also tentatively expected to ride in Dayton are No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira, No. 12 Claudio Montanha Jr., No. 18 Lucas Divino, No. 22 Daniel Tinsman, No. 23 Junio Quaresima, No. 28 Cody Teel, No. 36 Marcus Mast, No. 37 Stetson Lawrence and No. 39 Tanner Byrne.

“I learned that last year (every point matters) because I stayed in second and it was close,” Leme said. “This is the reason I am going this week. I could stay home and take a rest. I know I kind of need it because I have been going through tight weekends. Last weekend we drove all night to ride in THE AMERICAN the next day.

“I kind of needed the break, but I am not going to take a break. I am going to go and try to catch up in points.”

Leme made up significant ground (600 points) in the world title race in Duluth.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year won two of three rounds at the eighth Unleash The Beast event of 2019. Prior to winning the event and championship round on Big Black, Leme won Round 2 with 87.75 points on Texas Comfort Air’s First Blood.

“That was a really strong bull and he kind of surprised me,” Leme said. “Normally he goes to the left and he did come to the right, away from my hand, and kind of surprised me. I had to make a couple big moves and try to fit in. I thought that was a great ride and the score was good too.”

The ride helped push Leme into the event lead, granting him the opportunity to select Big Black with the first pick in the championship round draft.

Leme leads the PBR with five round wins. He is 14-for-28 (50 percent) with four 90-point rides on the Unleash The Beast, not including his 2-for-4 performance at the Global Cup.

“100 points per round is a lot of points,” Leme said. “Every time I get a rank bull, a hard bull to ride, I try to do my best to take most of them to win that round just to get points because I know how much they’re going to help me.

“When I do have a chance to draft and pick a bull, I always pick something that’s going to give me a chance to see if I ride to be a lot of points and win the round. Because I know, just from one bull, 100 points is a lot of points, and I try to make the most of them.”

2002 World Finals event winner J.W. Hart said on CBS Sports Network that he expects Leme to be making more trips to shark cage as an event victor.

“I don’t think it is going to be the last time,” Hart said. “This guy has all his ducks in a row. His powder is dry. He is going to pull the trigger now.”

Leme trails injured world leader Jess Lockwood by 335.84 points in the world standings.

He can potentially cut that deficit to 115.84 points with an event win/long round victory in Dayton.

“You have to keep pace,” Hart said. “There is no easy road to a world title. You have to keep pace with the best guys in the world, and he is doing that.”

Leme is very much aware of how much work he has to do if he hopes to take a stand as the No. 1 bull rider in the world.

“I have fell behind,” Leme concluded. “I can try and catch up now and get closer to those guys.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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