Path to Victory: Leme Is Focusing on 2020 and Not What Could Have Been
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Jose Vitor Leme twirled his right hand in a circular motion nonchalantly and made the No. 1 sign with his right finger pointing high toward the rafters of the Golden 1 Center.
Leme had just ridden Danny Boy for 87.75 points in Round 3 of the Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic. One may have expected a more emphatic celebration from Leme after he completely dominated Danny Boy as he left the bucking chutes backwards and turned into Leme’s riding hand.
Danny Boy was the bull that Leme slapped during Round 2 of the 2019 PBR World Finals at 1.9 seconds, and that slap was ultimately the final reason as to why Leme was unable to fend off Jess Lockwood for the World Championship.
“I was really anxious to get him, especially after what happened last year at the World Finals,” Leme said with the help of Paulo Crimber translating. “He cost me the world title. Just to get him, I was really focused on him. Even if he came into my hand or away from my hand, I was prepared for him. He turned around and came into my hand. It was really good.”
Yet for as much as Leme admittedly thought about his costly slap in Las Vegas this past offseason, his celebration Sunday was nothing that would make one think he was in search of revenge.
Leme knows he has to move on from the 2019 season, one that ended with heartbreak and another second-place finish for the athletic Brazilian.
He understands that he has to focus on 2020, and much less about exorcising past demons from a hellish end to 2019. His ride on Danny Boy was just one step toward a 2020 World Championship.
“That was really the one. He kind of took my title,” Leme said. “I always think about it, but every time I know I just have to leave that behind. It doesn’t matter if things are good or bad. I try to leave it behind and move on to the next bull.”
The 2017 PBR World Finals event winner knew he wasn’t finished with the task at hand in Sacramento.
His ride on Danny Boy was just setting the table for him to earn the first pick of the championship round draft, which he then used to select Rising Sun – a bull with whom he has a much more favorable past.
Leme then improved to a perfect 3-for-3 against Rising Sun, riding the Chad Berger bovine athlete for 91 points and his first event win of the 2020 season.
The fourth-year pro did not earn his first event win last year until March 10 – nine events into the 2019 season.
“It is certainly very important to have a victory like this at the beginning of the season,” Leme said. “This year will be a very difficult season. There are many guys riding well, and surely there will be many names competing for the title.”
In many ways, Sacramento was one of the most well-rounded event wins of Leme’s career. He won three of the four rounds of competition, and his 84.75-point ride on Newsom was significant too. The ride was away from his hand, an area Leme knows he needs to improve upon to win a world title.
“It is really great,” Leme said on Saturday night. “I feel really good because lately I have probably bucked off 90% of the bulls going away from my hand. Just to be able to ride this bull with control and just doing great makes me feel really good, because I have been working very hard to get that corrected, to get better. This proves that it is working.”
Then, of course, his ride on Danny Boy was not just good enough for a share of the Round 3 victory, but was also a psychological win considering what happened last year.
Leme earned an impressive 157.5 points toward the world standings, and he heads into this coming weekend’s Express Ranches Invitational in Oklahoma City ranked No. 2 in the world. He trails world leader Joao Ricardo Vieira by only 7.25 points.
“He really put on a dominating performance from start to finish,” two-time World Champion Justin McBride said on CBS Sports Network. “That is probably my favorite thing about this guy is the kind of competitor he is. He doesn’t wait for his turn to win. He goes out and takes it.
Leme is tied with Lockwood for the most round wins (4) in the PBR following his Sacramento performance. Leme leads the PBR with 12 qualified rides and a 75% riding average (12-for-16) through four events.
Fans can watch Round 1 from Oklahoma City exclusively on RidePass Friday night beginning at 8:45 p.m. ET.
“It is a relief to have a victory now because everyone who was in front already had a victory this year, so without a doubt this was very important for me,” Leme concluded.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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