Melancon Grits his Way to Third Place Finish in Chicago
By: Justin Felisko
CHICAGO – Cole Melancon could barely walk out of Denver Coliseum after having his right shoulder slammed and his hips stepped on during the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show.
Melancon, who had to battle elbow, back, knee and hip injuries during his tumultuous 2021 campaign, was sitting in his hotel room on Wednesday night thinking about whether it would make sense to board his flight to Chicago the next day.
Did he have enough in him to compete at the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational at Allstate Arena?
“I got beat up there in Denver, and I almost didn’t come,” Melancon admitted on Saturday night in Chicago. “I thought about not coming and just taking the weekend off, getting it right. But I had a good bull, and I wasn’t too excited about my 15/15. But I woke up that next morning, and I felt good, my body felt okay, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going, and I’m going to give it 100% when I’m there. I’m not going to half-ass it just because I don’t want to go because I’m sore.’”
Melancon put forth a gritty effort in Chicago, going 2-for-3 for a third-place finish at the third Unleash The Beast tour stop of the season.
The Sour Lake, Texas, native bounced back from a 7.88-second buckoff against Blue Crush in the 15/15 Bucking Battle to ride Short Stuff for 88 points in Round 1 on Friday night. Melancon then put himself in a position to win his first event since the 2020 Iron Cowboy in downtown Los Angeles by converting on his re-ride, WSM’s Trail of Tears, for 88.25 points in Round 2 to take over the event lead.
“My shoulder is already banged up, and I landed on it there (in Round 2) when that bull shifted out there,” Melancon said. “It was hurting when I got on, but it’s kind of chilling out now. It’s just kind of a little stinger I guess I had. So that is a good thing; I just have to keep it down because it hurts to raise it up. It hurts to get it jerked on, but it’s a lot easier than raising it up.”
Melancon added that the shoulder was the bigger issue than his hip, which at times led to him being unable to walk out of the arena in Chicago.
“Sometimes if I don’t hit it, it’s okay,” Melancon said. “But sometimes I might nick it just right, riding or something, and yeah, it’ll flare up. It wouldn’t say flare up, but it’s a bad bruise, and it hurts like hell.”
Melancon, however, was unable to conquer Homegrown in the championship round as the stout bovine launched him in 4.88 seconds.
The 27-year-old will head into next weekend’s PBR Gwinnett Invitational in Duluth, Georgia, ranked ninth in the world standings. Melancon is 4-for-8 through the first three events of 2022 and is looking more and more ready to improve off his dismal 7-for-55 (12.73%) 2021 season.
Melancon rededicated himself in the offseason, hitting the gym two to three days a week (gaining five pounds of muscle) and getting on practice bulls or entering a rodeo or open bull riding once a week in preparation for this season.
“I feel like this weekend, and so far, I just put it in the back of my mind, and I’ve just been giving it my all,” Melancon said following his Round 2 ride. “I feel like this weekend, the work I’ve put up to get to here from the Finals last year, from the shitty season I had, it’s finally starting to pay off, even though I’m kind of beat up and I can’t really enjoy it. It sucks, and I’m hurting, but it’ll be alright when that money hits my bank account next week.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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