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Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Leader Lane Out with Broken Thumb

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour leader Michael Lane may decide to go hunting this upcoming weekend and try to avoid watching the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals altogether.

A disappointed Lane will be unable to control his destiny and compete at the Velocity Tour Finals because of a broken thumb on his riding hand that he sustained on Oct. 8 when Latch Party bucked him off in 7.71 seconds.

Lane attempted practice bulls with his opposite hand this past Sunday to no avail. It became clear to him that there was no way he could safely compete at the Velocity Tour Finals and pursue the $50,000 Velocity Tour championship.

 
“I wish,” Lane told PBR.com on Tuesday. “It’s not healed enough to have strength in it. I felt OK on Sunday but not ready to get on a Classic bull left-handed.

“It’s been a tough one to swallow.”

Lane is currently on top of the Velocity Tour standings with 120 points after winning two regular-season events and leading the series with 13 qualified rides. Lane is 12 points ahead of No. 2 Manoelito de Souza Jr. with one rider able to earn a maximum of 105 points at the VT Finals this weekend at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas.

Thirty-seven of the 48 Velocity Tour Finals contestants are still mathematically alive heading into Round 1 on Friday night. Winning the event average is worth 60 points, and round wins are worth 15 points.

2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings

1. Michael Lane (120 points)
2. Manoelito de Souza Jr. (-12 points)
3. Conner Halverson (-22 points)
4. Keyshawn Whitehorse (-27 points)
5. Adriano Salgado (-33.5 points)
6. Austin Richardson (-34.5 points)
7. Grayson Cole (-41.67 points)
8. Paulo Lima (-43.17 points)
9. Lane Nobles (-43.5 points)
10. Eli Vastbinder (-47.5 points)

All Lane can do now is sit back and see what happens.

“It is very frustrating, if that’s even the word to use,” Lane said. “I have done all I can do to try and figure out how to ride, from trying to put a cast on it and still trying to ride with it to going and get on left-handed. That’s the only way I have comfort in not going because I tried everything I can at this point and never look back and think, ‘What if?’

“Now that I know I can’t ride, I have to go to see a hand specialist and find out what’s really going on with it. I have put that off since Tandy told me in Greensboro. I was just trying to see if it would heal enough for me to be able to ride at the Finals and that a miracle could still happen.”

EVENT STRUCTURE & POINTS FORMAT FOR THE 2021 PENDLETON WHISKY VELOCITY TOUR FINALS

The 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals will consist of two long rounds and one 10-man championship round. The event winner will be based on the event average and will earn 60 world points. Round winners will earn 15 world points.

Therefore, one rider can leave the South Point with a maximum of 105 points toward the world standings.

Round Points at the Velocity Tour Finals: 15, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2, 1
Event Average Points at the Velocity Tour Finals: 60, 38, 27, 20, 16, 11, 5

The 2021 PWVT Finals will pay $80,000 in prize money, not including the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion Bonus ($50,000). Round winners will earn $3,200, and winning the 2021 Velocity Tour Finals will be worth $18,480.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andre Silva/Bull Stock Media

© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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