Lawrence Turns Focus to Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Bangor Classic
By: Justin Felisko
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Caterpillar Classic was not the weekend Stetson Lawrence wanted nor needed, but the seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier is not concerned.
Lawrence knows all it takes is one good showing on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour to get himself back into the Top 35 of the world standings, especially with next weekend’s Bangor Classic in Maine being a three-day event.
“It is not horrible to go down there, and hopefully I only go down there for one week and get my shit right,” Lawrence said. “It will be good to get my confidence going and be good to go for the following weekend.”
Lawrence is 66th in the world standings following a 3-for-17 start to the 2020 season.
He was one of three riders down to their final UTB event exemption this weekend in Kansas City that failed to crack the Top 35 of the world standings. No. 68 Alisson de Souza and No. 95 Luciano de Castro were also cut from the UTB following 0-for-2 showings.
Souza injured his right shoulder this weekend in Kansas City, and is not sure if he will compete in Bangor, but he is tentatively in the draw. Souza is 6-for-19 on the UTB.
If healthy, Souza will join Lawrence as two of the stronger riders set to ride in the northeast on the Velocity Tour next weekend. Souza is the 2018 Velocity Tour champion, and used the 2018 Velocity Tour Finals to earn his first trip to the PBR World Finals two years ago.
The 26-year-old agreed with Lawrence, though, that there is nothing to be concerned about with such a good opportunity awaiting them on the Velocity Tour.
“I’m going to try to do my job,” Alisson said. “If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, I’ll go to the bottom and come back up.”
One rider can earn a maximum of 51 points toward the world standings in Bangor. An event win alone is worth 30 points, which would push Lawrence back into at least the Top 40 of the world standings.
“Everything is important at this time, but it was smart on my end to enter (Bangor) just in case,” Lawrence said. “But I was hoping to do my job this weekend and not have to go there.”
Castro did not enter any events for next weekend.
Lawrence was bucked off by Little Joe (5.86 seconds) and Rudy Can Do (4.25 seconds) inside the Sprint Center this weekend.
The North Dakota fan favorite has been struggling this year with a herniated disc in his back from the end of last season, as well as a knee injury he sustained in the practice pen days before the 2019 PBR World Finals.
“It has been a struggle,” Lawrence admitted. “After last weekend, I don’t know what I did, but my knee is swollen up a bit and tight. You can’t make excuses.”
Lawrence is hoping he can take advantage of his time on the Velocity Tour to earn enough points to get back on the Unleash The Beast, and then hopefully inside the Top 20 of the world standings.
He then could take a few weeks off to receive some treatment on his knee and rest his back.
“I am trying to prolong it, win some money more than anything, and get up in the standings and then take a week off before or after the Easter break,” Lawrence said. “I can then get my knee scoped. Hopefully then I will be back riding good and 100 percent instead of having these issues or excuses.
“It all depends on where I am at in the standings. If I do need to take another day or week off, I will. I am to the point now to where it is not fun to ride hurt, and it hurts the confidence really bad. In my mind, I know I ride a lot better than I have. I haven’t let this get to my head. I need to show up and grit through it.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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