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Leme Celebrates 24th Birthday with $62,500 Victory at WCRA Stampede at the E

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Jose Vitor Leme walked over to his wife, Amanda, on the dirt inside the Lazy E Arena and gave her a long hug on Saturday night.

Jose Vitor capped off a memorable week by celebrating his 24th birthday with a $62,500 victory at the WCRA Stampede at the E.

The No. 1 rider in the PBR world standings had just finished trying to put into words for CBS Sports and RidePass sideline reporter Anthony Lucia just how special his win was, especially considering he and Amanda had just announced five days earlier that the couple is expecting their first child.

“Well, I am very happy because every time when I come to WCRA events, I go to short gos,” Leme said. “I had good luck here. Thanks to the WCRA for the opportunity to come here and give this money. I am so blessed that my wife is pregnant now. I am very happy. Today is my birthday. I thank God for all.”

Amanda has been by Leme’s side throughout his rise to stardom in the PBR, as well as the hard times, such as when she met him outside the locker room at T-Mobile Arena last November and gave him a much-needed hug following a heartbreaking defeat at the 2019 PBR World Finals last year.

When the Lemes made the announcement about Amanda’s pregnancy on Tuesday, Leme wrote, “Certainly this is the most important post of my life so far. Very happy to be able to share with all of you that now I will be a father, inexplicable this feeling that I feel at that moment, the blessing of being able to build a family with the woman of my life…”

Leme clinched the victory Saturday evening with an 89.5-point ride on Nailed in the Showdown Round to hold off Daylon Swearingen (84.5 points on Cut the Cord) and 2012 PRCA champion Cody Teel (85 points on Black Rose).

 
Fans can watch the WCRA Stampede at the E on CBS national television on Aug. 29 at 3 pm. ET.

Leme has been a man on a mission ever since he came up short of the 2019 PBR World Championship against Jess Lockwood, and he has barely slowed down since the season began in January.

The 2017 World Finals event winner’s victory at the Stampede at the E netted him 44 points toward the PBR world standings as he swept the competition. Leme earned 30 points for the win, and another 14 points for winning both rounds of the bull riding. He won the long round with an 86.25-point effort on Here to Party.

Leme brought his lead in the world standings up to 247.25 points on No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira after Vieira had previously cut the lead to 203.25 points earlier in the day after Leme went 0-for-2 at PBR Bullnanza. It was only the third event this season in which Leme had failed to earn any points toward the world standings.

All he needed was a few hours to reset on Saturday afternoon, and he was right back to dominating the bovine beasts underneath him. Even his winning ride at the Stampede at the E was another example of his improvement this season as he was controlled with his free arm riding Nailed away from his hand, which was an area of weakness for him during his back-to-back runner-up finishes in the world title race.

Vieira was bucked off in 5.47 seconds in the long round, and he leaves Guthrie 15 points further back in the world title race than when he arrived.

Swearingen earned 13 points toward the world standings to move back to No. 5 after 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco had passed him earlier in the day with his 2-for-3 victory at PBR Bullnanza.

Swearingen trails Leme by 422.34 points heading into next weekend’s PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, in Salt Lake City.

Teel rockets up to No. 13 in the world standings after earning 24 points at the WCRA event, as well as 68 points with his second-place finish at PBR Bullnanza. Teel went 4-for-5 at the two events and moved up 11 spots in the standings after beginning the weekend at No. 24.

Leme has now won seven events at all levels of competition, as well as the Monster Energy Team Challenge and the individual aggregate title at the 2020 PBR Global Cup USA. Leme’s victory at the METC also made him the 16th rider in PBR history to surpass the $2 million threshold in career earnings.

Leme leads the PBR with 48 qualified rides at all levels and has a 67.61% riding average, which increases to 70% on the Unleash The Beast (28-for-40).

He also was nearly in contention for the Triple Crown of Rodeo $1 million bonus.

Leme won the Royal City Roundup this past February with a 90.75-point ride on Outlaw. However, he did not win the $50,000 WCRA bonus in Kansas City, nor did his win qualify him for the WCRA’s $1 million Triple Crown of Rodeo bonus, because he (2.23 seconds vs. I’m Legit Too), Lockwood (1.83 seconds on Milk Man) and Ricardo Vieira (3.34 seconds on Blue Crush) all bucked off in the three-rider showdown round.

Leme won back the $50,000 this weekend that carried over from Kansas City, but he still will need to win two more WCRA events in a row to qualify himself for the $1 million TCR title.

Of course, Leme may not have to wait too long. He may very well win $1 million later this season if he can follow through and win the 2020 PBR World Championship that he is one step closer to thanks to his second WCRA win of 2020.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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