UTB Countdown: No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – With three days remaining until the Unleash The Beast resumes in Bismarck, North Dakota, with the 20th annual Dakota Community Bank & Trust Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, PBR.com will take a look at the Top 5 riders in the world standings before the stretch run to the 2020 PBR World Finals begins.
Today, we look at Joao Ricardo Vieira, who is currently third in the world standings.
2020 First Half UTB Stats
Rides: 16
Attempts: 32
Riding Percentage: 50%
Top Ride: 92 points on Foghorn Leghorn (Sacramento, California)
Average Ride Score: 76.94
Wins: 1 (New York)
15/15 Bucking Battle victories: 1 (Sacramento, California)
Round Wins: 2
Top 10: 5
Top 5: 4
90-point Rides: 3
First Half Recap: A year after being a second-tier contender in the 2019 world title race behind heavy hitters Jess Lockwood, Jose Vitor Leme and Chase Outlaw, Vieira quickly made it known he plans to contend for the 2020 world title.
Vieira won the season-opening Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden in New York to immediately surge into the world No. 1 ranking in January, beginning a new conversation: could he become the second-oldest bull rider in PBR history to win a World Championship?
Three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes pulled off the feat at 36 years old, and Vieira, 36, is attempting to join him in the record books.
Vieira has continued to show improvement riding bulls away from his hand this season, just as he did in 2019, and that progression is necessary if he is going to chase down Leme in the world standings.
The Itatinga, Brazil, native cut his first half short when he returned home to Brazil following the March 14-15 Unleash The Beast event in Duluth, Georgia. Vieira wanted to bring his family to his ranch in remote Brazil as the COVID-19 outbreak began to spread throughout the United States, as well as in Brazil. Vieira missed the three UTB events at the Lazy E Arena, as well as one 15/15 Bucking Battle, and he elected not to return for the Monster Energy Team Challenge.
Vieira saw his deficit in the world standings go from 93.75 to 274.25 points as Leme capitalized with another World Champion contender on the sidelines. How big of an advantage was that for Leme? Well, the 180.5 points is more than one rider could earn with a full sweep at a two-day event, therefore Leme gave himself at least a one-event cushion on Vieira with the veteran at home in Brazil.
Vieira still finished the first half in the upper echelon in a series of statistical categories. His 16 qualified rides is third most in the PBR, and his 50% riding average on the UTB ranks fifth among riders with 10 or more qualified rides. Vieira’s three 90-point rides also is tied for third on the UTB. He also won The American for the third time.
However, Vieira only qualified for four championship rounds, where he went 2-for-4, and went 1-for-4 in 15/15 Bucking Battles. He is not going to win rounds consistently on the UTB, and his bread and butter is going to have to be event wins for him to be a threat in the second half.
Best First-Half Performance: Vieira won a PBR-record tying fourth PBR Major when he went 4-for-4 at the season-opening Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden. He first made noise in Round 1 in New York by riding Western Skies for 89.25 points – beating out Lockwood and Leme during the first look at last year’s world title contenders. He then bounced back from a 4.02-second buckoff against Peep Show in the 15/15 Bucking Battle with 84.75 points on Going Broke in Round 2.
The eight-year pro then rode Birthday Cake for 85.75 points in Round 3 to set himself up with the No. 1 pick in the championship round draft.
Vieira then notched a record-tying fourth PBR Major win by handling Bezerk for 87.25 points. Bezerk at first turned into Vieira’s left hand before bucking four jumps forward. Vieira remained prepared for a possible direction change away from his hand until Bezerk ended the final four seconds going back into Vieira’s strong riding hand.
The win made Vieira the No. 1 bull rider in the world for the first time since September 4, 2015.
First Half Top Ride: Not only did Vieira’s 92-point ride on Foghorn Leghorn win him the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento, California, but it is arguably the best ride of Vieira’s career away from his hand. The win was also Vieira’s fifth 15/15 Bucking Battle victory of his career.
First Half Reading:
• Four years later, Joao Ricardo Vieira is No. 1 in the world once again
• Moraes believes Vieira has what it takes to join him as a 36-year-old champion
• Vieira wins The American
Brazilian Summer: Vieira competed at three rodeos in Brazil as he stayed home with his family instead of returning to the United States for the Monster Energy Team Challenge and a handful of Touring Pro Division events.
Vieira, who celebrated his 36th birthday on July 28, was dominant in Brazil. The 2013 PBR Rookie of the Year went 7-for-7 and won two of the three rodeos at which he competed.
The seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier returned to the United States in late July and is focused on making a push for his first world title.
Analysis: Vieira is going to have a challenge overcoming Jose Vitor Leme in the world title race, especially without an ability historically to win rounds. Leme is going to be a threat not only to win events, but to continuously place high in the rounds.
Therefore, the onus will be on Vieira to win a series of events before the 2020 PBR World Finals, while also maintaining his health. Injuries played a factor in his failure to seal the deal in 2015 when he was a World Champion contender, and last year he got hurt shortly before the World Finals when he was stepped on at an October Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event.
If Vieira can be healthy for the 2020 PBR World Finals, he can then focus on using a victory at the World Finals, which is worth a minimum of 560 world points, to potentially push himself past Leme for the world title.
Vieira made sure to take care of his body during the summer break, and he begins the stretch run in great health.
Vieira also is the elder statesman of the 2020 title race. Unlike Daylon Swearingen or Colten Jesse, he knows what to expect competition-wise as the world title race intensifies in the next three-plus months.
However, no matter how experienced or improved Vieira is this season, it may not be enough to catch Leme, says RidePass host Colby Yates and two-time World Champion and CBS Sports analyst Justin McBride.
“Joao is probably one of the best guys going right now,” Yates said. “Even at his age, he is going to be tough to beat any time, and he is every single year. As far as winning a World Championship, I don’t think it is going to happen. He may make a run for it and do good, but he is going to have a hard time beating Jose. Everybody is.”
McBride said, “He has made a great living, but I don’t know if he can ever get that gold buckle just being good in one direction. Joao works hard, he is tougher than shit, but if you don’t understand the right mechanics it won’t matter how hard you work. You can’t put a round peg in a square hole.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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