Lane Heads into Omaha Looking to Build Off Velocity Tour Victory

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – The last time Michael Lane competed on the Unleash The Beast, the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding throughout the United States, and PBR riders had descended upon Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, Georgia, for a closed-to-the-public event.

Lane would finish 16th overall in the event, but the Tazewell, Virginia native would not return to the UTB once the PBR resumed its season 41 days later in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In fact, Lane only competed at five events over the course of three weekends for the rest of 2020 as injuries took a toll.

The three-time PBR World Finals qualifier, though, is back to competing at PBR events this season and is set to return to the UTB courtesy of his Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour victory at the Wichita Invitational last weekend.

 
The victory was also Lane’s first on the Velocity Tour since April 27, 2019, when he won the Des Moines Invitational.

“It had been a while,” Lane told the Cowboy Channel’s Steve Kenyon this week. “With last year, I only went to one Velocity event (weekend) all year long. Between injuries and COVID and all that, I really didn’t even feel like I rode last year. I feel like I am back on track from where I left off.”

Lane, who has six career victories on the Velocity Tour, will head into the PBR Union Home Mortgage Invitational in Omaha, Nebraska, ranked No. 35 in the world standings.

The 30-year-old has drawn Monkey Doo (0-0, UTB) for Round 1 on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network | 7:45 p.m. ET RidePass).

“(The Unleash The Beast) is where all professional bull riders want to be, and that is where the most money is made,” Lane said. “That is definitely where you want to be, but at the end of the day, you still just have to show up and do your job and ride your bulls. That’s my plan this weekend in Omaha.”

Lane won Round 1 in Wichita with an 87.5-point effort on Jerry Lee and then converted on Snoop Dog for 87.5 points in Round 2. Bezerk, though, bucked him off in 5.31 seconds in the championship round.

“(Jerry Lee) was a really good bull,” Lane said. “I saw him a weekend before in Grand Forks, and I was like, ‘Man, I would love to have that one.’

“Sure enough, the next weekend I seen that I had him and I talked to Dalton Kasel, who was hauling that bull there, and he said, ‘You are really going to love this bull.’ Things worked out how they were supposed to. He was a really good bull, and I am thankful.”

Lane is ranked No. 3 in the Velocity Tour standings and is 10-for-23 (43.48%) at all levels of competition. He has ridden at least one bull at seven of the 10 events he has competed at.

“I try to look at myself as I ride bulls consistently all the time,” Lane said. “I never have highs or lows. I look at myself as I ride bulls good all the time. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. I try to stay consistent in what I do every day, so it converts over to consistent riding.”

 

VELOCITY TOUR KICKING OFF BUC DAYS IN CORPUS CHRISTI

Since 1938, the Buccaneer Commission, a non-profit organization, has annually staged the Buccaneer Days festival in Corpus Christi, Texas, in support of bringing entertaining, educational and cultural events to the Coastal Bend. Beginning in 1996, proceeds from Buc Days has been awarded to students as college scholarships.

Held on the Corpus Christi Bayfront in the Spring, this culturally diverse event grabs the attention of South Texas. It has something for everyone, including a rodeo and a carnival.

This year, the PBR Velocity Tour will be hosting a two-night bull riding – the Buc Days PBR Chute Out, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers – at the American Bank Center at Buc Days. Round 1 begins on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET (RidePass).

Thiago Salgado is the highest-ranked Velocity Tour rider (No. 9) slated to ride at the Buc Days PBR Chute Out. Also set to compete are world No. 45 Marcus Mast, No. 50 Logan Biever, No. 53 Luis Blanco, No. 54 Dakota Louis, No. 56 Leonardo Lima, No. 60 Wallace de Oliveira, 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas and 11-time PBR World Finals qualifier Valdiron de Oliveira.

Next week, the WCRA will be bringing top rodeo athletes to Corpus Christi with the WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi on May 6-9.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

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