Leme: ‘I’m still hungry for another gold buckle in my career’
By: Justin Felisko
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme enjoys the chatter that comes with obstacles.
Leme remembers the whispers last season when he had bucked off a few bulls before the 2020 World Finals.
“Is Jose Vitor Leme feeling the pressure?” Leme recalled on Monday night at Last Cowboy Standing with a laugh.
He then took a moment to wipe the glistening sweat off his face underneath the grandstands at Frontier Park Arena.
The No. 1-ranked bull rider had just ridden Combustion for 85 points to end the first night of competition at the PBR Major at Cheyenne Frontier Days in eighth place.
Leme knows only one rider in PBR history has ever successfully won back-to-back world titles – Silvano Alves – and he is embracing the challenge of doing what so many other riders before him have failed to do.
“I use that for motivation to ride bulls,” Leme said. “That’s like last year, before the Finals. A lot of people start talking, ‘Oh, Jose started bucking off the bulls. I don’t know if he will win or not.’ And then I did.
“I went to the Finals and did my job. That’s what I think makes this sport fun for me. I like that, because I like to improve every day, and when people talk like, ‘I don’t know if he can do good or not,’ I take that as motivation. That’s good.”
Leme has a good a chance as any rider ever had at winning a second straight gold buckle.
The 2017 World Finals event winner earned 14 world points on Monday night to extend his lead on No. 2 Kaique Pacheco, who was bucked off by Sky Harbor in 2.23 seconds, to 82.5 points.
Round 1 winner Cooper Davis (91 points on @PBR on TikTok) is third in the world standings, 229.50 points behind Leme.
“It’s always a challenge to defend a world title,” Leme said. “Everybody wants the title, but I think I’m doing good. I’m doing my job, and I hope this year I can repeat. Like, last year, I did win the world title, but I’m still practicing. I’m still hungry for another gold buckle in my career.
“The only thing that’s different this year is all the pressure (of expectations). It’s on your back. When you win the last year, everybody wants to see you riding and win again. Everybody expects that you win again. All these people are cheering for me. I want them to have a pleasure to watch me ride bulls. And I hope to win again.”
Leme also knows there is something else he has never accomplished – win a PBR Major – and he understands that a victory at Last Cowboy Standing on Tuesday night (CBS Sports Network 10 p.m. ET) would certainly go a long way towards winning that second consecutive World Championship.
The winner of Last Cowboy Standing will earn 150 points toward the world standings and a minimum of $75,000.
Leme’s best finish at a PBR Major was a third-place showing at the 2018 Last Cowboy Standing event in Las Vegas. He is 14-for-29 (48.28%) in the marquee regular-season events.
“I don’t have too much luck in these events,” Leme admitted. “Most of the time, I got hard bulls. They bucked me off. So this time, I came excited to win, to take this buckle for me this time, because I never won one Last Cowboy Standing or Iron Cowboy or any Majors. This bull today, I did well this time.”
Leme certainly has a tall task Tuesday in Round 2 against Drago (16-1, UTB/METC). Drago is 21-1 at all levels of competition, and no left-handed rider has conquered him yet.
There were 11 qualified rides in Round 1, so 14 additional riders were brought back based on world standings ranking as of July 19 for the second round.
The Top 8 riders via aggregate score following the second round will then advance to Round 3.
Leme will likely need to ride Drago to advance to Round 3.
Round 4 will then consist of the Top 4 riders in the aggregate based upon the previous three rounds.
Round 5 will feature every rider that posted a qualified ride in Round 4. A minimum of two riders will compete in Round 5. If only one rider covers in Round 4, then the PBR will bring back one rider based on aggregate scores following Round 4.
The rider with the highest score in Round 5 will win the title of Last Cowboy Standing. If all riders buck off in Round 5, then the LCS crown will go to the rider with the highest aggregate score among those that attempted a bull in Round 5.
Leme says he is ready for the challenge and the grueling obstacle that is Last Cowboy Standing.
“It’s one of my goals,” Leme concluded. “I want to win Major events, too, to put my name on the history of the Major events too, not only normal events every weekend.
“I want to win the bigger ones too.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.